Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tried to scold Republicans on Wednesday regarding their part in President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
During her speech on the House floor, Ocasio-Cortez claimed 13.7 million Americans would lose their healthcare as a result of the bill, according to video footage on the United States House of Representatives website.
She then alleged Republicans would try everything to distract from that number:
Republicans have put this bill together, rushed it together in a matter of hours on the back of a napkin, shaking it walking out of the White House and brought it right here to this floor. They are defunding Planned Parenthood. They are ending tons of Medicaid coverage for 13.7 million Americans, including Affordable Care Act coverage as well. And if you want to get an abortion and have a silver plan on a healthcare plan that you paid for, you will also be affected by this legislation as well.
“Also, allowing suppressors on guns to be deregulated to some of the largest amounts that we have seen since the 1930s, this is just a Christmas bill, it’s just a Christmas tree,” Ocasio-Cortez added.
“And so I want people to understand, for my Republican colleagues, who are sure what is in and not in this bill, in this process that has been this rushed, when you wake up in the morning you will realize you voted to defund Planned Parenthood and to take away healthcare from 13.7 million Americans. And when this country wakes up in the morning, there will be consequences to pay for this,” she concluded.
Trump recently called on Republicans to unite behind the “ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL,” per this outlet which also reported, “The bill seeks to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid by having those on the program verify eligibility in the program twice per year instead of the standard one time per year.”
“It would also include ‘community engagements requirements’ of at least 80 hours per month. This includes work, education, or service for able-bodied adults without dependents,” the article read.
Meanwhile, Breitbart News also reported that Democrats have repeatedly called for ridding Medicaid of waste, fraud, and abuse, but now that Republicans are ready to deliver reform on the issue, Democrats are not happy.
“Democrats have said that the proposed cuts are ‘shameful’ and claim that the reforms amount to another attempt to repeal Obamacare, more formally known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA),” the outlet said in a report published on May 15:
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), the former Freedom Caucus chairman, has made this argument, saying in March, “On Medicare and Medicaid, the president has said we’re not going to touch those programs from a beneficiary stand point, but what he’s never said is we’re not willing to touch those programs from a fraud standpoint,” which he said includes improper payments or payments to illegal aliens.
It is also important to note that Planned Parenthood recently released its annual report (over Mother’s Day weekend) and it showed there have been record abortions and taxpayer funding, per Breitbart News:
The report, called “A Force For Hope,” states that 402,230 unborn babies were killed in abortions, up from 392,715 the previous year. At the same time, the organization received $792.2 million in taxpayer funding, up almost $100 million from the previous year.
The report’s release comes as congressional Republicans weigh defunding Planned Parenthood and other abortion organizations through budget reconciliation. Defunding abortion providers through the reconciliation process would allow the Senate to bypass the critical 60-vote threshold for a simple majority vote instead, capitalizing on Republicans’ overall trifecta. While federal funding for abortions specifically is barred by the Hyde Amendment, pro-life opponents argue no federal funds should be used to prop up any organization that performs abortions.
Breitbart News reported Thursday that Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill received House approval, noting it is a multi-trillion dollar tax break package.
“The sprawling 1,000-page measure is now set for the Republican-led Senate which is working on its own version,” the outlet said.
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