July 01, 2025 02:11 PM UTC

Senate Passes Republican Budget Bill; Fate of Millions back in Hands of House

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• by: Colorado Pols

As The Washington Post reports, the big, beautiful, bullshit bill (BBBB) narrowly made it through the U.S. Senate today:

The Senate on Tuesday narrowly approved massive tax and immigration legislation that Republicans hope will become the centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s second term, dramatically reorienting the role of the federal government and unwinding many of the Biden administration’s accomplishments.

Vice President JD Vance cast the tiebreaking vote for the measure, which extends trillions of dollars in tax cuts from Trump’s first term and implements new campaign promises — such as eliminating income taxes on tips and overtime wages — while spending hundreds of billions of dollars on immigration enforcement and defense.

To offset the cost, the legislation cuts about $1 trillion from Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for low-income individuals and people with disabilities, and other health care programs. It would also make cuts to SNAP, the anti-hunger Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. Nearly 12 million people will lose health care coverage if the bill becomes law, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. [Pols emphasis]

The bruising battle to pass the bill split Senate Republicans, as some pressed for deeper spending reductions and others balked at the bill’s cuts to Medicaid and other programs. Three Republicans voted against the measure: Sens. Rand Paul (Kentucky), Thom Tillis (North Carolina) and Susan Collins (Maine).

After much theatrical hand-wringing, Republican Senators such as Josh “I’ll Never Cut Medicaid” Hawley of Missouri and the melodramatic Lisa Murkowski of Alaska did what they always do: They folded. Forgotten, apparently, were any real concerns about the closure of rural hospitals or driving up the federal deficit by $5 trillion.

The BBBB now heads back to the House of Representatives, where it passed by a single vote in late May. This means that any one of Colorado’s four Republican Members of Congress (Reps. Jeff “Bread Sandwich” Hurd, CO-03; Lauren Boebert, CO-04; Jeff Crank, CO-05; and Gabe Evans, CO-08) could likely stop what may well be the single worst piece of legislation in modern American history.

Is it possible that one of these Colorado Republicans could save the day? Hurd has promised in writing (TWICE!) that he would oppose steep Medicaid cuts. Evans had begged the Senate to restore renewable energy funding cuts from the House version of the bill (the Senate did not oblige); would Evans stand in the way of the BBBB for this reason alone?

The pressure is on, as a press release from the office of Gov. Jared Polis lays out plainly:

Today, Senate Republicans shoved the Big, Cruel, Disastrous Bill through the Senate, setting the stage to kick hardworking Coloradans off Medicaid, threaten children’s access to healthy food, and kill jobs. Now, Governor Polis is calling on Colorado’s Representatives and House GOP to do the right thing for Americans by defeating the bill and starting over.

“Today, Republicans in the Senate voted to kick Americans off health care, raise costs on insurance, kill jobs, increase our deficit and debt, and make it harder for kids to access food. This shameful vote comes at the expense of hardworking Coloradans. This bill is bad for our communities, bad for our economy, and will increase the deficit and balloon our national debt. It’s time for the House to rise to the occasion and do their part to protect Americans from this bill and start over,” said Colorado Governor Jared Polis.

Reports from the Congressional Budget Office show that this legislation, as drafted, will balloon the deficit by nearly $4 trillion over the next decade, putting the country’s financial stability at risk. It will also throw hundreds of thousands of Coloradans off their health care coverage with cuts to Medicaid, as well as other changes to the exchanges and the failure to extend health care premium tax credits. If these cuts are enacted, Colorado could lose jobs, GDP and significant federal funding. Rural and working-class parts of the state would be hit the hardest. The bill would also shift SNAP costs onto the states, and Colorado would be forced to pay an additional $175 million to cover those benefits, money the state does not have in this challenging budget environment.

Governor Polis has consistently sounded the alarm over the harmful impacts of this cruel and disastrous bill. Governor Polis has opposed cruel provisions in this bill, including:

• Cutting Medicaid funding, which would kick Coloradans and families off health care, while raising costs for everyone else Earlier this year, Governor Polis and Lt. Governor Primavera sent a letter to Colorado’s Congressional Delegation urging them not to cut Medicaid funding.
• Threatening SNAP funding and food access for children and families
• Risking jobs in Colorado’s strong clean-energy industry
• Irresponsibly ballooning America’s national debt

Prior to reaching the Senate, Colorado’s Congressional Republicans in the House all voted in support of this bill, including Representatives Boebert, Hurd, Evans, and Crank. [Pols emphasis]

If this bill passes, it will be devastating for Coloradans. The Governor is making it clear in which direction fingers should be pointed if that happens.