For Immediate Release – May 22, 2025
GOP Bill Squeezes Working and Poor Americans to Fund Billionaire Tax Cuts
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) today voted against the Republican budget reconciliation bill that cuts deeply from programs working Americans rely on in order to fund tax giveaways to the billionaires and corporations. The bill, which adds nearly $4 trillion to the national debt, passed by a narrow party line margin. It now goes to the U.S. Senate where Republicans have already expressed opposition.
“The way Congressional Republicans conduct business in the dead of night matches the way they approach policy that harms their own constituents – it’s absolutely asinine,” Rep. Horsford said. “Nevadans deserve a government that prioritizes public health, food security, community safety, education and a dignified retirement for all who earn it. Instead, Republicans just stiffed the Silver State, and every state, with a bill to pay off their billionaire campaign donors and corporate backers.”
Nevada will be hit particularly hard if the Republican bill becomes law. Medicaid cuts alone could impact 811,000 residents in the Silver State, which will have to either add $6.7 billion to the state budget, or kick hundreds of thousands of people off their coverage.
In Nevada’s 4th Congressional District alone, 241,668 people receive medical coverage through Medicaid. The latest estimates are that more than 21,000 of them will lose coverage, along with more than 5,000 who will lose the coverage they now have from the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Horsford offered an amendment to extend a tax credit to lower ACA healthcare premiums across America, including nearly 100,000 Nevadans. House Republicans rejected the amendment on a party-line vote.
Additionally, SNAP food assistance cuts could impact 109,000 Nevadans, including 33,000 people in the 4th Congressional District.
The bill adds nearly $4 trillion to the national debt to help pay for tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy: 60 percent of the tax benefits will go to the top 20 percent of households. Meanwhile, due to Trump’s blanket tariffs, households will lose $2,800.
“The cruelty of this bill is spelled out in staggering numbers, but it isn’t law yet,” Rep. Horsford continued. “The power in American democracy has always been with the people, and now more than ever, lawmakers need a reminder of who they work for.”
Rep. Horsford raised alarms early about Republican budget plans, devoting his annual address to the Nevada State Legislature on February 19, 2025 to the threat of Medicaid cuts as the Republican budget took shape.
Over the past three months, he has worked with constituents, advocates, and lawmakers to elevate the real-world harm the cuts would inflict on Nevadans, and published an op-ed warning that Republicans were closer than ever to making the cuts a reality.
When the bill came up for consideration in the Ways and Means Committee that Horsford serves on, he led committee Democrats in submitting amendments that would benefit working class Americans. During the nearly 18-hour meeting that lasted through the night on May 13, 2025, Republicans voted down every single one of the 38 amendments offered.
Horsford continued his opposition in the House Rules Committee, testifying during a middle-of-the-night hearing about the bill’s failure to address key issues affecting Nevadans, including housing and veterans support.
Editorial Note – The proposed amendment by Rep Mark Amodei of Nevada to sell 500,000 acres of public lands in Utah and Nevada was removed from the bill before passage at the behest of Rep Ryan Zinke of Montana. This proposed land sale was impactful to the Virgin and Moapa Valleys and opposed by the Nevada Democratic Congressional delegation.
