By Stephen Witt
Los Angeles County’s all-Democratic Congressional delegation yesterday trashed President Trump’s “Big Beautiful” tax and cut spending bill, calling it, “The Big Ugly.”
The measure passed the Senate 51-50 yesterday along partisan lines with Vice President J.D. Vance breaking the tie, and now heads to the House for final passage.
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, said 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.
“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,” said Padilla.
“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.”
U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called the Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill one of the most shameful and selfish pieces of legislation he’s ever seen.
“This bill will result in the closure of hospitals and clinics, kick millions of Americans off of their health care, slash food assistance for families, kill thousands of jobs, destroy the future of renewable energy and raise energy bills by hundreds of dollars every year — all to give a massive tax cut to wealthy people and big corporations, and to benefit polluters,” said Schiff.
“We should be focused on tackling rising costs, expanding health care for millions, creating more jobs, building more homes, and safeguarding the right to retire with dignity. That will continue to be my highest priority.”
U.S. Rep. Luz Rivas (D-San Fernando Valley (portions), including Pacoima, Panorama City), the only Latina in Congress with a background in STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics], spoke against Senate’s action to remove the Artificial Intelligence (AI) moratorium provision from Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill.
The AI moratorium provision would have blocked states from innovative uses of AI or establishing or implementing laws that protect Americans from current and future challenges related to AI and other emerging technologies.
“We should be learning from how states address current and new challenges from Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, not blocking their progress and their ability to innovate,” said Rivas. “From healthcare to education to finance, AI has shown tremendous potential to improve and enhance everyday life – but its quick rise comes with challenges. House Republicans’ 10-year AI moratorium provision would leave us unprepared to tackle these challenges as they arise, which is why I led an amendment to their Big Ugly Bill to remove this provision,” said Rivas.
U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Downtown LA, Koreatown, Boyle Heights, Eagle Rock) said he opposed the bill since it was first introduced in the House and will vote against it again when it reaches his desk because it steals from the working class and poor to hand huge tax breaks to the billionaire establishment that’s taken root in Washington since they sat front row at Trump’s inauguration.
“Senate Republicans didn’t just fold to Donald Trump; they colluded to make the bill even worse for working families, while many cut sweetheart deals to spare their own constituents. With the new Senate changes, 17 million people — real people, not just numbers — will lose their healthcare coverage, and left in place are massive cuts to crucial programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, green energy, and environmental protections,” said Gomez.
“House Democrats won’t be silent, and we won’t back down. We will fight this bill with every tool we’ve got — in the Rules committee, on the floor, and in the months to come. We’ll make sure every American knows exactly who sold them out and who stood up. This bill is a betrayal of working families, and we won’t let them forget it because we sure as hell won’t.”
