Padilla Statement Denouncing Senate Republicans’ Passage of Billionaire-First Tax Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement after Senate Republicans narrowly passed their billionaire-first budget reconciliation bill to gut critical programs, kick 17 million Americans off their health care, explode the debt by over $3.5 trillion, and skyrocket energy costs for Californians:
“Senate Republicans just voted to let President Trump and his billionaire buddies steal from working families in order to cut their own taxes by trillions of dollars.
“Americans are struggling to keep up with rising costs from Trump’s chaotic tariffs. Instead of trying to reduce costs, Senate Republicans have chosen to cut a trillion dollars from Medicaid, kicking 17 million people — including over 2.3 million Californians — off their health insurance. Their votes will cause rural hospitals across the country to close. They’re decimating SNAP nutrition assistance that parents count on to feed their children. And electricity bills will go up while our energy system becomes less reliable.
“One thing is clear: Republicans are voting for this bill knowing full well it will hurt their constituents, all in an effort to please Donald Trump and enrich the billionaire class.”
Overnight, Senator Padilla proposed an amendment to the reconciliation bill to force Republicans to make changes to ensure it would not increase the deficit. Republicans rejected the amendment, highlighting their complete hypocrisy on the national debt. Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill adds more to the debt than the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, American Rescue Plan Act, CARES Act, and CHIPS and Science Act combined — all to pay for yet another round of tax cuts for the wealthy and large corporations.
As Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Padilla previously circulated a memorandum outlining Senate Republicans’ hypocritical violation of filibuster rules in order to exploit the expedited reconciliation process while hiding the true cost of their tax bill. Padilla also spoke on the Senate floor against the Republican budget resolution in April, and voted against advancing it in the Senate in both February and April. He condemned House Republicans’ passage of the reconciliation bill in May.
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