On Thursday morning, President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a slim margin: 215 votes in favor and 214 against.
Alabama’s delegation voted along party lines. Alabama’s Democratic members of Congress — Reps. Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures — voted in opposition. Sewell debated the bill on the House floor in the wee hours of the morning before the bill passed.
“We could be working to help Americans deal with the high cost of living. We could be working to make sure that healthcare is affordable for all. But what are we doing at 4:35 a.m. in the morning? We’re preparing to vote on a bill that will provide a $4 trillion tax giveaway to the wealthy, well-connected and well-off,” said Sewell. “And how will we pay for it? We’ll pay for it by kicking 13.7 million Americans off Medicaid and cutting $300 billion in SNAP benefits from hungry families.”
According to a press release from Sewell, the bill includes over $700 billion in cuts to Medicaid, which threatens the healthcare of 176,181 residents in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. 121,745 children and 23,000 seniors, as well as the healthcare providers who serve them, are among those who could be affected.
In addition, the legislation makes it harder and more expensive to obtain coverage through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. As a result, an estimated 17,700 people in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District could lose their healthcare coverage. For the 55,000 individuals in the district who currently rely on ACA coverage, this could mean an average annual increase of $510 in household healthcare costs—a 66 percent hike in premiums.
The bill also includes deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, which helps feed 197,000 people in the 7th District. These changes represent the largest reduction in nutritional assistance in American history.
Furthermore, the legislation cuts the Community Eligibility Provision, putting at risk access to free school lunches for 100,290 children in the district.
“These drastic cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance are the largest in history and represent an outrageous betrayal of our values as Americans,” Sewell said. “Alabama families shouldn’t be forced to foot the bill for Trump’s billionaire tax cuts. I voted NO.”
Figures did not speak during the floor debate, but had spoken about the detrimental effects this legislation would have on his district previously.
“One in four people in my district receive SNAP benefits. One in four people in my district receives Medicaid benefits. These are people who can’t afford to lose healthcare access,” Figures said. “The truth is people will lose those benefits, all in an effort to make long money longer.”
