'Jam it through in the middle of the night': GOP sets 1 AM hearing to advance disastrous Medicaid cuts

and

20 May

House Speaker Mike Johnson on January 15, 2024 (Andrew Leyden/Shutterstock.com)

House Republicans are set to take the next step toward passage of their sprawling reconciliation bill at a Wednesday hearing scheduled to begin while most Americans are fast asleep.

The GOP-controlled House Rules Committee will convene at 1 am ET Wednesday morning to consider the legislation and recent changes pushed by Republican hardliners, who are demanding even more aggressive cuts to Medicaid and green energy programs.

Specifically, a faction of far-right Republicans led by Rep. Chip Roy of Texas wants the bill's proposed work requirements for Medicaid recipients to take effect earlier than the originally proposed 2029 start date. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Tuesday that Republicans had settled on "early 2027" as a new start date.

While the House Rules Committee has not responded to reporters' questions about the timing of Wednesday's hearing, critics said it appears to be an attempt to avoid the kinds of protests and public scrutiny that daytime meetings have attracted.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the ranking member of the rules panel, blasted his Republican colleagues over the dead-of-night hearing time, writing on social media that "they have such contempt for the American people."

"If Donald Trump's big beautiful tax break for billionaires is so great... why not pass it in primetime?" McGovern asked. "Why jam it through in the middle of the night? What don't they want you to know?"

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) added that "if you think you are doing what is right for the American people, you don't consider it in the dead of night."

The GOP reconciliation package, a centerpiece of President Donald Trump's legislative agenda, would slash Medicaid and federal nutrition assistance by more than a trillion dollars combined over the next decade—cuts that would help offset the cost of massive tax breaks for rich Americans.

The spending cuts, which would be achieved in part through draconian and ineffective work requirements, would strip healthcare coverage and food aid from millions of Americans and potentially devastate rural hospitals, farmers, and local economies.

"Instead of listening to the millions of Americans clogging their phone lines and showing up at townhalls, or even those in their own party warning against severe cuts to Medicaid, House Republicans are making bigger cuts and terminating people's healthcare coverage even faster," said Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA.

"This bill doesn't just cut Medicaid, it guts Medicaid, and it will cause millions of eligible people in House districts across the country to lose access to the Medicaid benefits they need," Wright said. "When will we hear from those members?"

Later Wednesday morning, Medicaid recipients from across the country—including districts represented by House Republicans—are set to gather on Capitol Hill to protest the GOP legislation.

"Upon arrival on May 21, they will hold a press conference, demand face-to-face meetings, deliver petitions signed by thousands of constituents urging GOP decisionmakers to change course, and take direct action in order to be heard," the People's Action Institute and Popular Democracy said Tuesday.

"The plan to eviscerate Medicaid and other programs in order to siphon public dollars into the pockets of billionaires who already pay less in taxes than working families is universally unpopular," they added.

From Your Site Articles