IFPTE Urges Senate to Reject Budget Reconcialtion Bill That Wrecks Our Safety Net, State Budgets, the Economy and Jobs for the Benefit of the Very Wealthy and Corporations
As the Senate began debating a partisan budget reconciliation bill that will increase the national debt by $4.5 billion over 10 years to deliver tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the very wealthy and corporation, IFPTE told Senators to oppose this bill on the grounds that it “will deprive millions of Americans of health coverage, increase the cost of living and lower the standard of living for working Americans, hurt our nation’s health systems and health insurance coverage, burden on state and local governments with budget deficits.”
Click image to visit AFL-CIO’s site to call your Senators or call the number above.
The budget reconciliation bill is legislation that is exclusively for the purpose of changing revenues, spending, and federal debt. Policy provisions that are “merely incidental” to the budget, changes to Social Security, and provision that do not produce revenues or spending are outside the scope of the budget reconciliation bill, according to the Byrd Rule. The budget reconciliation bill, titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” is being crafted by Republicans without bipartisan support or consultation. The rules of a budget reconciliation bill allow it to pass in the Senate with a simple majority of support — other bills require a 60-vote threshold (3/5 of Senate approval) for closing debate to advance the bill to the Senate floor.
Anti-Federal Worker and Anti-Civil Service Protections Removed
Working with other labor unions and the AFL-CIO, IFPTE advocated against anti-federal worker provisions in the Senate budget reconciliation bill that would have attacked the civil service by making new hires “at will” employees and raised the cost of retirement benefits (effectively a pay cut), stripped collective bargaining rights by forcing federal unions to pay the full compensation costs for union representatives on official time, gutted federal agencies and services by giving President Trump unilateral authority to dismantle agencies and the federal workforce, and restricted funding for unions and charities through a 10% tax on funds that organizations receive from federal payroll deductions. Most of these provisions were deemed by the Senate Parliamentarian to violate the Byrd Rule and therefore not germane to the budget reconciliation. Other provisions and versions of of provisions already turned down by the Parliamentarian were ultimately removed from the final bill from Senate Republican leadership. IFPTE will continue to monitor and oppose any possible inclusion of these or similar legislative provisions,
Budget Reconciliation Will Create a Crisis of Hospital Closures, with Economic Impacts Rippling Throughout States and Resulting in Job Losses
IFPTE’s letter to Senators made clear that the core of this bills spending reductions are $930 billion in cuts to Medicaid which, along with changes to the Affordable Care Act, will result in over 16 million Americans losing their health coverage. IFPTE also told Senators that these changes “certain to drive up health insurance costs for all Americans, with the cost of uncompensated care increasing yearly premiums” and that “380 rural hospitals, from Alaska to Alabama, face closure if Medicaid cuts become law, eliminating emergency rooms, ambulances, and maternity wards in their communities.” When considered alongside the cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), this bill “could lead to 1.22 million jobs lost and a loss of $154 billion in state government revenues for 2029, the year when all Medicaid, ACA, and SNAP policies will be fully implemented.”
Click image to visit AFL-CIO’s site to call your Senators.
The budget reconciliation bill is already unpopular, with polls showing: Fox News shows 38% approval and 59% disapproval among registered voters; a Quinnipiac University poll shows 27% support and 53% opposition among registered voters; and a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found 35% of adults support the bill while 64% have a negative view of it.
IFPTE also noted the provision restricting states and localities from enacting laws and rules to protect the rights and safety of the public from artificial intelligence (AI) for 10 years. This AI moratorium has been revised and weakened due to guidance from the Senate Parliamentarian, but the provision is still in the bill and is wholly inappropriate as it caters to Big Tech at the expense of the democratic will of Americans and the jurisdiction of state and local governments.
IFPTE’s letter concludes, “We cannot support legislation that leaves American workers and their families vulnerable to economic uncertainty, overwhelms state and local budgets, and holds back our nation from pursuing an economic policy that provides good jobs and improves the lives of working people.” IFPTE expects this budget reconciliation bill to be enacted in the next few days. If that happens we are committed to making sure any positive impacts to our membership, but we resolve to repair the damage this legislation will cause to working Americans and their families in every state and Congressional district.