May 22, 2025

Rep. Tokuda Votes Against Republicans’ “Big Ugly Bill”

Republicans' budget bill would cut $880 billion from Medicaid, $313 billion from SNAP, and $500 billion from Medicare, and increase the national debt by $45 trillion

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) voted against passage of Republicans’ budget bill which implements President Trump’s agenda to permanently give tax cuts to the wealthy while gutting essential social safety net programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP that millions of Americans depend on for health care and food. Despite House Democrats’ united opposition and efforts to delay and prevent the bill’s passage, House Republicans rammed the budget bill through early Thursday morning by a party-line vote of 215 in favor, 214 against, and 1 abstention.

"It really was disgusting and shameful to see Republicans cheering as they passed a bill that's only going to support billionaires, all at the expense and on the backs of hardworking Americans," said Rep. Tokuda. “Americans will go hungry because of this bill. Americans will die without the health care that Republicans are ripping away from them. And Republicans who have spent decades railing about ‘fiscal responsibility’, have betrayed the American people, forcing our keiki to shoulder the long-term costs of these tax cuts. I will not give up and will continue fighting against this agenda to protect our working families and our future.”

If enacted into law, the "One Big Beautiful Bill" would lead to the largest cuts in health care coverage and nutrition benefits in our nation’s history. Here are some of the impacts to Americans:

  • An estimated 13.7 million would lose their health care.
  • At least 3 million a year would lose SNAP benefits.
  • The top 0.1 percent will get an average benefit of $255,000 a year ($700 a day), while the average benefit for people making less than $50,000 will be $265 a year (less than $1 a day).
  • Five trillion dollars would be added to the national debt over the next decade and $45 trillion over the next 30 years, triggering cuts to Medicare by the end of the decade without action by Congress.

In addition to Rep. Tokuda's leading role last week as a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee during the marathon markup of Republicans’ proposals to gut SNAP benefits, she worked tirelessly this week to prevent the budget bill's passage. Yesterday, in a last-ditch effort to prevent the bill’s cuts to SNAP from affecting rural and remote communities in Hawai‘i, she proposed another amendment to the House Rules Committee. In a meeting that lasted over 20 hours, Rep. Tokuda testified in support of her amendment and urged her colleagues to help protect families and businesses in rural America.

"SNAP works. It feeds families and fuels local economies. Every SNAP dollar we know generates over $1.50 in economic activity. It supports farmers, grocers, small-town businesses. It breaks cycles of poverty. And Medicaid keeps rural hospitals open, keeps parents and kids healthy — it keeps people alive. Cutting these programs isn't just cruel, it's anti-American," she said during her remarks on the amendment, which can be seen here.

As House Republicans prepared to bring the budget bill for debate earlier this week, Rep. Tokuda also spoke twice on the House Floor against the bill, sharing stories of her constituents who would be harmed by cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. 
 
"Atalina is a mother of five, soon to be six. Her husband, battling cancer and now severe back injuries, can't work consistently. And yet Atalina still works full time, still serves her neighbors and her community. If I put my entire family on my employer insurance, she told me, it would cost more than half my paycheck. Medicaid gave her family access to life-saving care. SNAP made sure her kids didn't go to bed hungry. These programs aren't handouts, she says, they're lifelines," said Rep. Tokuda on the House Floor, which can be seen here.
 
"Rural America is already in crisis. People there die younger. Mothers there face greater risk giving birth, and hospitals teeter on the edge of collapse. Medicaid is the thin lifeline that fragile systems are using to hold itself together. Cut it and people will die. At Adventist Health Castle in Kailua, 75 percent of patients rely on Medicaid and Medicare. They've weathered already the storm of COVID, but with new GOP-led cuts to provider fees, they may be forced to shut down essential services: obstetrics, pediatrics, emergency services — care that literally keeps babies and people alive. But this is not just about one hospital in Hawaiʻi. This a national crisis. Rural Americans face significantly worse health outcomes and health disparities. In too many rural counties, life expectancy is a decade shorter than that of their urban neighbors," said Rep. Tokuda on the House Floor, which can be seen here.
 
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration, and Republican leaders have set a deadline to enact this bill by the Fourth of July.

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