Lori Trahan Highlights Constituent Who Depends On Medicaid In Warning Against Passing GOP Budget

At the marathon House Energy Committee hearing, Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA) slammed the GOP budget.

Transcript

00:00Feel the impact of a bill that will strip millions of Americans of their health care coverage?

00:05Easy because you don't have to look at them in the eyes or hear their stories.

00:11Let's open the doors and allow the American people who have stood in line

00:15fill the open seats first and foremost.

00:18In the meantime, let me share just one story from my district.

00:22This is a photo of Philip, a resident of Haverhill, Massachusetts.

00:26Philip has a disability, but that hasn't stopped him from giving back,

00:30whether volunteering with Meals on Wheels, training service dogs, or caring for animals at a sanctuary.

00:38He does all this because of Medicaid.

00:41Medicaid funds the programs that help Philip gain skills, stay engaged, and remain independent.

00:47Medicaid isn't just a health care program.

00:49It's a foundation for independence for people with disabilities like Philip

00:53who want to live their lives with dignity.

00:55In Philip's case, Medicaid funds Opportunity Works and Community Works,

00:59a program that helps folks build job skills, engage in volunteer work, and participate meaningfully in society.

01:06These initiatives don't just keep Philip busy.

01:09They give him purpose.

01:11They help him grow, contribute to, and connect with his community.

01:15But here's why I am telling Philip's story.

01:18This bill, this quote-unquote big, beautiful bill, as Donald Trump has described it,

01:23will slash the federal Medicaid funding that Philip's program depends on.

01:28And I know my Republican colleagues will say that states should make up for it,

01:31but they know that's not possible.

01:34They know that when funds are cut, it's initiatives like these that are always first on the chopping block.

01:41So what then happens to Philip?

01:43He loses a lot more than a routine.

01:45He loses access to his community, his sense of contribution, and his independence.

01:51Mr. Chairman, Philip and millions of Americans across our country like him are not fat to be trimmed

01:57or waste to be rooted out by disingenuous politicians in Washington.

02:02They're hardworking Americans trying to live their lives with dignity and make their communities better.

02:07They're our constituents.

02:09They need you to vote note on this bill.

02:11They need you to protect Medicaid, protect the independence of Americans with disabilities.

02:18And if you can't do that, at least have the courage to look at the American people,

02:23people like Philip, in the eyes while you take it away.

02:26I yield back.

02:27The gentlelady yields.

02:29Does anyone else wish to be recognized for an opening statement?

02:32The gentlelady from Texas is right.