Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Suzanne Bonamici (1st District Oregon)
WASHINGTON, DC [7/3/25] – Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici condemned the House Republican reconciliation bill, which is now headed to the president’s desk after passing the House and Senate with all Democrats voting no.
Her statement can be found below:
“There is nothing beautiful about this bill. Over the past several weeks I’ve heard from many constituents in NW Oregon who are overwhelmingly opposed to this harmful and partisan legislation. I strongly opposed the original House version of this bill, which passed by one vote, but the bill that came back from the Senate is even worse. The Senate bill passed only with arm-twisting and a tie-breaking vote by the Vice President. And here we are again, in the middle of the night again, considering a bill that will have devastating consequences for Oregonians and Americans.
“The cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will result in up to 17 million people losing access to health care. There are 1.4 million Oregonians on Oregon’s Health Plan, including 1 in 3 children. Hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes will be forced to cut back services or close, and people will die prematurely.
“Republicans are also defunding Planned Parenthood, which provides necessary family planning services and reproductive health care. No other provider network has the capacity, expertise, or reach to replace Planned Parenthood’s essential care, particularly in underserved communities. When women can’t access comprehensive health care services, they are more likely to die.
“Significant cuts to food assistance will mean that more people, many of them children, will go hungry. This bill guts the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP, and takes away critical food assistance from vulnerable groups, including veterans, people who are homeless, stay-at-home parents, and youth aging out of foster care. Now is not the time to raise grocery costs for families and force states to choose between taking SNAP benefits away from large numbers of people or ending their SNAP programs entirely. This is inexcusable in the United States of America. Access to food stamps when I was in college helped me complete my education, and without that critical nutrition assistance it’s likely that I would not be a Member of Congress today.
“This Big, Bad Bill reverses the progress we’ve made addressing climate change, resulting in thousands of lost jobs in renewable energy, dirtier air and water, more extreme heat events, and poorer health outcomes. At a time when energy demand is surging and clean technologies are finally delivering lower costs and good-paying jobs, this bill slams the brakes. It phases out solar, wind, battery storage, and electric vehicle tax credits by 2028. According to the Energy Information Administration, this bill will gut the very incentives that are powering 93 percent of new capacity growth. This fossil fuel wish list will end more than 800,000 clean energy jobs by 2040, which will wipe out domestic manufacturing gains and shut down sectors that are finally bringing investment to rural communities.
“That sabotage doesn’t just hurt the economy, it endangers lives. Sidelining renewables and clean storage that keep the lights and air conditioning on during heat waves is a death sentence. Experts warn that heat wave-induced blackouts could kill 13,000 people. This bill doesn’t just cripple our grid; it puts lives at risk.
“This bill will exacerbate devastating heat waves and extreme weather events. It strips EPA funding, repeals protections against pollutants, and ends longstanding air quality rules that keep children with asthma out of the ER. Ending these safeguards could cause thousands more asthma attacks per day in frontline communities.
“This bill also greenlights unchecked offshore oil and gas leasing. It guts environmental reviews and public comment requirements. It threatens fisheries, tourism economies, and coastal communities that will see pollution, spills, storms, and sea level rise long after the members who voted for this bill are gone. It abandons and condemns those most at risk to real, unmitigated danger to give tax breaks to Big Oil.
“This Republican bill gives billions more to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when their unidentified, masked agents are abusing their power with dangerous sweeps that violate due process and create human and economic destruction. These indiscriminate raids do not make our communities safer – and often have the opposite effect when done in sensitive locations like courthouses and schools. That is 20 times more agents, arrests, and illegal detention centers. Further, the Trump Administration is diverting FEMA funds away from disaster recovery to build and operate an inhumane new prison for migrants in Florida. This funding will fuel more cruel actions and set our country on a more dangerous path.
“I worked my way through community college, university, and law school with grants, loans, and work study, so I understand the importance of federal financial aid. Cuts in this bill will close the doors of opportunity to higher education for thousands of students who do not come from wealthy families. The lost potential from these cuts is wrong for students, the country, and the economy. This bill will slash billions of dollars in federal funding for higher education, raising student loan payments for working and middle-class borrowers, and making it harder for students to access an affordable college education. The bill eliminates PLUS loans for parents and graduate students and modifies repayment programs to remove some of the lowest-cost options for borrowers. By capping the amount parents and graduate students can borrow in federal loans each year without meaningful measures to lower the cost of higher education, the bill will close the doors of opportunity for many low-income students. These harmful policies will also impede access to graduate education and, by extension, exacerbate workforce shortages in professional fields such as teaching, behavioral health, and social work.
“Instead of investing in public education, this bill enacts a federal voucher scheme that redirects tax dollars to unaccountable K-12 private schools. This disproportionately and negatively affects rural communities and can violate the separation of religion and government.
“Finally, this financially irresponsible bill adds between 3 to 5 trillion dollars in new debt. It’s puzzling why any fiscal hawk voted for it.
“And for what? To pay for tax breaks for billionaires and large corporations; tax breaks they don’t need. This legislation is the most regressive giveaway and wealth transfer that Congress has ever considered. The top 20 percent of income earners will get at least 68 percent of the tax benefits and everyone else will see their costs increase. The poorest Americans will be paying for tax breaks for the richest.
“I’m a policymaker, mom, and education advocate, and I know that our country does better when we treat people with humanity, break down barriers, and open doors of opportunity. This bill does nothing to Make America Great Again; it’s one of the most dangerous, mean, and regressive bills I’ve ever seen, and I urge my colleagues to stand up for their constituents and reject this horrible bill.”
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