See below for reactions by Virginia elected officials, nominees – and others – to US House passage earlier this afternoon, along party lines, of Trump’s “One Big Ugly Bill” – aka, a “cruel and immoral tax and budget scheme that prioritizes billionaires over working people.” As Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner put it, congressional Republicans’ bill will “explode the debt and kill tens of thousands of jobs and rip health care and nutrition assistance away from hundreds of thousands of people in Virginia alone.” This is, they add, Republicans “willing to sell out America’s well-being and future to give the ultra-wealthy a tax handout,” and the consequences “will be stark.” Let’s just hope that Americans “know who is to blame” – 100% Trump and the Republican Party – and vote accordingly!
Spanberger Statement on U.S. House Passage of GOP Tax Bill That Threatens Health Insurance for More than 322,000 Virginians
Spanberger: “Right Now, Any Governor or Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Should Be Standing up for the People They Were Elected to Represent and Preparing for the Many Challenges Ahead”
RICHMOND, Va. — Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger today released the following statement following passage of Congressional Republicans’ tax bill in the U.S. House of Representatives — legislation that threatens to take away healthcare coverage from more than 322,000 Virginians.
“I first ran for office after watching my Congressman vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act and eliminate protections for his constituents with pre-existing conditions. Now, nearly a decade later, I am once again hearing from Virginia parents, families, and healthcare providers who are terrified about what misguided legislation in Washington means for the healthcare of hundreds of thousands of our Virginia neighbors.
“The people of our Commonwealth deserve elected officials who will stand up against attacks on Virginians’ healthcare. That’s why I would like to thank every Democratic Member of Virginia’s congressional delegation for voting against this bill. Amid the chaos, they chose to stand with our neighbors on Medicaid, our rural hospitals, and our Commonwealth’s healthcare system.
“Virginians deserve a Governor who understands, not ignores or dismisses, the severe consequences of this bill. They deserve a Governor who recognizes the severity of this moment — for the health of our neighbors with chronic conditions, the fiscal health of our Commonwealth, and even the ability of Virginia’s food banks to feed those who are hungry. Right now, any Governor or Lieutenant Governor of Virginia should be standing up for the people they were elected to represent and preparing for the many challenges ahead. As the next Governor of Virginia, I will never put politics before my obligations to the health, safety, and financial security of every Virginian in our Commonwealth.”
BACKGROUND
The GOP’s tax bill would hurt access to affordable healthcare coverage across the Commonwealth:
- More than 388,000 Virginians on the Marketplace would see their premiums increase significantly – if they don’t lose coverage entirely. A 60-year old couple who lives in Roanoke and makes approximately $81,000 a year would see their premiums rise by over $1,000 per month.
At least six rural hospitals, including four in Southwest and Southside Virginia, one in Hampton Roads, and one in the Northern Neck — would be at risk of closure.
Congressman Suhas Subramanyam’s Statement on the Passage of the One Big Ugly Bill
“This One Big Ugly Bill is a betrayal of the promises this administration made to the American people. At a time when families and small businesses are facing high costs and difficulty accessing care, this bill will raise prices, strip health care and food from millions, and bankrupt our country by adding trillions to the national debt.
As if that weren’t enough, this bill includes several measures that specifically target Virginia, including singling out our local airports to make flying in and out of our region more expensive and allocating tens of millions of dollars to relocate the Space Shuttle Discovery from Virginia to Texas. It also empowers the administration with a hundred-million-dollar slush fund to continue cutting essential programs and firing the region’s federal workforce. All of this to fund tax breaks that will disproportionately benefit billionaires and the wealthiest corporations.
This bill will hurt every Virginian and every American. I will make it my mission to reverse the damage that it will do. The American people deserve better.”
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McClellan on Final Passage of Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) issued the following statement after House passage of the Senate-amended budget plan:
“Today, House Republicans passed a cruel and immoral tax and budget scheme that prioritizes billionaires over working people and puts the health, safety, and economic security of Virginians at risk. Their “One Big Ugly Bill” to enact President Trump’s agenda is not just unpopular — it’s one of the largest transfers of wealth from the poor and middle class to the ultra-rich in U.S. history, with the bottom-earning 80 percent of Americans paying for tax cuts for the wealthiest few.
“This bill rips health insurance away from nearly 17 million people, including hundreds of thousands of Virginians, and slashes federal support for Medicaid, forcing Virginians to foot the bill while getting less.
“Moreover, by shifting more Medicaid and SNAP costs to the states, this bill will force the Virginia General Assembly to make the impossible choice of raising taxes or cutting essential services.
“Every Virginian will feel the impact — through shuttered hospitals, overcrowded emergency rooms, and rising health care costs across the board.
“This legislation does the exact opposite of what Americans voted for last November, and I was proud to vote no on this harmful and heartless legislation.”
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After All-Nighter, Vindman Votes Against Cruel Republican Bill That Strips Virginians of Health Care, Food Assistance
Washington, D.C. — Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07) released the following statement after once again voting against President Trump and extreme Washington Republicans’ dangerous budget that threatens vital health care and food assistance while handing massive tax breaks to billionaires.
“The economy is struggling and costs are out of control. Meanwhile, extreme Washington Republicans just voted to make sure 3-year-old Luka, my constituent who relies on Medicaid, has a much harder life – it’s just cruel. I don’t know how my colleagues sleep soundly after voting for a bill that will cost people their lives.
“It rips health care away from 17 million Americans, including over 300,000 Virginians, and slashes food assistance for families already struggling to put dinner on the table. All to fund more tax breaks for their ultra-wealthy friends.
“I didn’t come to Congress to sit idly by while children lose access to care, seniors go hungry, and veterans are denied lifesaving services. And I certainly didn’t come here to help billionaires get richer while hardworking families get kicked to the curb.
“That’s why I voted no — twice. This tax bill raises costs on American families when we need to do the opposite. I’ll keep standing up for families because they deserve lower costs and peace of mind – not this constant chaos.”
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Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA03):
“Once again, Republicans rushed to jam their Big, Ugly Bill through Congress. Their bill will have serious consequences for America’s working families. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires and corporations. And it makes annual deficits and the national debt worse than they would be if we did nothing. For years, we have heard Congressional Republicans preach about fiscal responsibility and complain about deficits and the national debt. Yet they just voted for a bill that will add an estimated 3.4 trillion dollars to our deficit and that does not even include the cost of interest. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, because every Republican administration since President Nixon has left for their Democratic successors a worse budget deficit than the one they inherited. And every Democratic administration since President Kennedy has left for their Republican successors a better deficit situation than the one they inherited. All without exception. This bill is a collection of policies that will harm America’s working families, bestow tax breaks on the wealthy, and significantly increase the national debt. Every single Democrat in Congress voted against it, while almost every Republican in Congress voted for it while having the audacity to try to call the legislation ‘beautiful.'”
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VA11 Democratic nominee James Walkinshaw: “History was made on the House floor today. Leader @HakeemJeffries delivered a powerful, record-breaking speech exposing the cruelty of Trump’s Big BS Bill—a bill that would devastate Virginia. As the Democratic nominee in VA-11, I stand with him.”
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Affordable Virginia Calls Out Kiggans for Voting to Strip Virginians of Food and Health Care
Virginia Beach, VA – Today, the House of Representatives passed the Republican Tax Scam. Of the few Republicans who stood up for their constituents, Rep. Jen Kiggans was not one of them. As expected, she chose even deeper cuts to Medicaid and SNAP to give tax cuts to billionaires and corporations.
“Growing up, my family struggled and made ends meet with the help of programs like SNAP. As an adult, I volunteer with ForKids because I want to give back to families in my community like mine,” said Natasha Baird, Suffolk resident. “The work ForKids and other organizations do is crucial for families who would struggle to provide the best for their children without these essential programs. ForKids also provides cooked meals and food pantry supplies to the families in their care. Every child deserves a full belly so that they can learn, grow, and thrive, and today’s bill, supported by Rep. Kiggans, means fewer kids will get the nutrition they need previously provided by SNAP.”
“Unfortunately, Rep. Kiggans’ vote was predictable. Despite months of claiming to support Medicaid, writing letter after letter urging everyone else to protect it, when given the opportunity to protect it herself, she folded,” said Emily Yeatts, Affordable Virginia Campaigns Director. “Now, because of her reckless and cruel vote, hundreds of thousands of Virginians will lose their healthcare. Communities will see clinics and hospitals close, especially those in rural areas. Children who rely on SNAP for their most basic needs will go hungry. This isn’t fear-mongering, this is the ugly truth. Rep. Kiggans sold out working families so that billionaires can continue to have lavish weddings and pay cities to remove bridges to make room for their yachts.”
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Republicans Send Budget to Trump’s Desk to Be Signed Into Law, Stripping Health Care From 300,000+ Virginians
Republicans in the U.S. House today passed an extreme budget with the largest Medicaid cuts in U.S. history, which is estimated to strip health care coverage from more than 300,000 Virginians. In addition, the bill will shut down rural hospitals and nursing homes, spike energy costs by 8%, rip away food assistance from hungry families and children, and trigger hundreds of job losses across the Commonwealth.
DPVA Chairman Lamont Bagby shared the following statement:
“Let’s call what we just witnessed on the House floor what it is: cruelty. Republicans knowingly voted to rip life-saving health care from millions of Americans, including more than 300,000 Virginians. They knowingly voted to shutter hospitals and rip away food assistance from children. This vote will go down as one of the most heartless in our nation’s history, plain and simple. And just like every other time they’ve voted to take away critical services and benefits from their constituents, Virginia’s five Republican House members—including Jen Kiggans and Rob Wittman, who broke their promise to protect Medicaid—will try to hide and dodge accountability. But they can’t outrun the truth, and they can’t outrun the blue wave coming for them in 2026. We’ll spend every single day between now and then making sure Virginians know exactly who turned their backs on them. And in November, we will elect Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, and Jay Jones, and expand our majority in the House of Delegates, to protect Virginians from the Trump administration’s dangerous agenda.”
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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia Statement on House Republicans’ Vote to Send Backdoor Abortion Ban to President Trump’s Desk
Legislation Would “Defund” Planned Parenthood, Could Close Nearly 200 Health Centers
RICHMOND, VA — Today, despite public outrage and their own political misgivings, congressional Republicans voted AGAIN to “defund” Planned Parenthood and implement a backdoor abortion ban. The bill now goes to President Trump, who has promised to sign it and strip millions of people of their health care.
In response, Jamie Lockhart, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia issued the following statement:
“House Republicans like Rep. Rob Wittman (VA-01) and Rep. Jen Kiggans (VA-02) know exactly what ‘defunding’ Planned Parenthood will do: block 1.1 million Planned Parenthood patients from getting care, put nearly 200 health centers at risk of closing, and make it much harder for everyone, everywhere to get abortion care. Every cancer that goes undetected, every STI that goes untreated, every patient who can’t get birth control or abortion care when they need it — all of it is on their hands.”
“It doesn’t stop there. These same politicians voted for devastating cuts to Medicaid — threatening health coverage for over 300,000 Virginians — even after signing a letter promising they wouldn’t support Medicaid cuts for vulnerable populations.”
“Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia will never give in to those who want to tell people what to do with their bodies and lives. When we say care no matter what, we mean it. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia will never stop working to build a world where all people can get the care they need.”
Planned Parenthood health centers are essential providers in Virginia:
- Planned Parenthood health centers serve nearly 25,000 patients annually across six locations, including rural and medically underserved areas. In 2023, Virginia health centers provided:
- 12,081 patients with birth control
- Conducted 12,027 tests for chlamydia — the leading cause of preventable infertility — that resulted in 673 positive results and follow-up treatment
- Performed 705 cervical cancer screenings (i.e., Pap tests) that detected 53 abnormal results that required further diagnosis and treatment and 1,295 breast exams.
- No other provider can step in and replace Planned Parenthood for the patients that will lose care, according to new Guttmacher Institute research.
- “Defunding” Planned Parenthood for just one year will cost taxpayers nearly $52 million over 10 years.
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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia (PPAV) is a statewide advocacy organization committed to preserving and expanding access to reproductive health care through legislative action, public education, and electoral engagement. We fight to ensure every Virginian has the freedom, information, and power to make their own informed reproductive choices.
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