IFPTE Condemns House Passage of Budget Reconciliation Bill
Legislation slashes Medicaid, imposes draconian federal employee policies, blows a gigantic hole in the national deficit, and throws 11 million off food assistance and 13.7 million off healthcare coverage
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC – The executive officers of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) released the following statements in response to this morning’s House passage of a budget reconciliation bill aimed at extending President Trump’s tax cuts for billionaires and corporations and offsetting the cost by eliminating food assistance and healthcare for nearly 24 million Americans.
IFPTE President Matt Biggs:
“This legislation is historically draconian and breaks the record for throwing more Americans off their healthcare and food assistance than any other piece of legislation in American history. And, to be clear, these immoral cuts called for and supported by both President Trump, Speaker Johnson, and all of the 215 House Republicans who voted to support it, are for the sole purpose of offsetting the nearly $5 trillion that this bill will cost taxpayers. For those that are keeping score, even after all of these cuts to services working people count on, the legislation passed this morning will increase the national debt by at least $4.8 trillion and as high as $5.5 trillion. Americans should know that all these deficit hawks in the House claim to care about debt on the one hand, and then vote for a bill that blows a gigantic hole in our debt. IFPTE is working to make sure that Senate lawmakers will see this bill for what it is: a disaster. Senate Republicans should turn a blind eye to the House bill as they consider their version of a budget reconciliation bill.”
IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson:
“Make no mistake, if allowed to stand in its current form, this legislation will hurt working families across America, decimate state and local government budgets, put in danger the ability of utilities like TVA to pursue cutting-edge clean energy technologies like SMRs, and incentivize corporations to move jobs overseas. As the budget reconciliation process moves over to the Senate, IFPTE will work with lawmakers and staff there to hopefully limit much of the damage called for in this legislation.”
The legislation, ironically dubbed “the Big Beautiful Bill,” was jammed through the House Rules Committee in a marathon late-night hearing that lasted over 20 hours and then considered on the House floor during the wee hours of the morning today to limit transparency about all that is contained in it. It passed at 6:55 am by a vote of 215-214.
IFPTE is a labor union representing upwards of 90,000 workers across North America in the federal, public, and private sectors.
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