The House Energy and Commerce Committee finished their budget markup hearing Wednesday afternoon, advancing the health care portion of the legislation — which includes massive cuts to Medicaid — in a party line 30-24 vote after more than a day of debate.
The marathon budget markup started Tuesday afternoon and featured raucous protests from demonstrators speaking out against the proposed gutting of the social safety net program, arrests and multiple tense exchanges between the Democrats and Republicans on the committee. Some Democrats called out their colleagues on the panel for delaying the discussion on Medicaid cuts for more than 12 hours.
The committee didn’t start discussing its health portion, which includes the proposed changes to Medicaid and several MAGA provisions, until the early hours of Wednesday morning. One Democrat described the Republican-controlled committee’s unwillingness to prioritize the health portion during daytime hours while protesters were outside the committee room as “intentional” and “shameful.” Democratic leadership was vocal in condemning Republicans’ charade.
“It’s outrageous Republicans forced this debate to occur late into the night when most of the country was asleep and couldn’t see what they were up to,” Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said in a statement.
The tension picked up in the wee hours on Wednesday as the committee started discussing health and Medicaid related amendments. Democrats on the committee offered amendment after amendment for more than 26 hours. It was a messaging effort from Democrats who are largely locked out of power. But it also gave them an opportunity to hit back at Republicans’ plans to slash Medicaid, which will result in millions losing coverage, while helping them make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts — which disproportionately helped wealthy Americans — permanent.
None of the amendments were supported by committee Republicans.
“Their effort to jam these extreme, right-wing policies down the throats of the American people are all going to be rejected one way or the other, if not by Republicans in Congress who would rather do the right thing then by the American people who will hold them accountable for their extremism,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) told TPM on Tuesday.
“President Trump repeatedly promised Republicans were not going to cut Medicaid, but that was a lie since Republicans just voted for the largest Medicaid cut in history,” Pallone said of committee Republicans.
The legislation that successfully made it out of the E&C committee will now make its way to the House Budget Committee, which is expected to meet at 9 a.m. ET on Friday, for their reconciliation markup. The panel will pull together all the approved texts from the relevant committees to prepare the full reconciliation package, which will then make its way for a House floor vote. That floor vote is expected to be next week based on the self-imposed deadline House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House GOP leadership is trying to meet.
The House floor portion of Republicans’ “big, beautiful” bill could still come apart as far-right members of the conference have been calling for steeper cuts and complaining about the deals leadership has been making with some vulnerable House Republicans.
“Stop pandering to the little people with your outrageous insinuation that cutting public services that keep people alive is somehow of more value to America than allowing rich people to keep every last cent of their money!”
Democrats feel the need to run on the promise of reaching across the aisle. Reaching across the aisle is NEVER something Republicans do or aspire to. Stop already. Next time Democrats have a majority in either house, run them the eff over. Right the ship of state. After being a voter for 64 years and always being the party seeking agreement, comity and compromise, I am completely over it. Do as they do. Obviously, the ends justify the means. Idealism be damned.
I agree and would add that a key difference is that Republicans know, or at least are not afraid, to use power.
Given how tight the final vote is going to be, with multiple factions within the GOOP having reasons to break withe the party, you’d think they’d want to offer a fig leaf to some Ds to give them an excuse to vote AYE in the end.
Too much to ask of the Food Stamp Nazis.
The GOP murders continue…