Hundreds of advocacy organizations have called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to reject a budget blueprint from House Republicans.
A letter sent to Thune, led by the liberal health care advocacy group Families USA, features more than 300 organizations, such as Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union.
“We write to share our deep concerns about the House-passed budget reconciliation resolution—specifically the catastrophic health care cuts it would require and the resulting harm it would impose on families and communities across the country,” according to the letter, sent Wednesday.
The budget resolution from the House, passed last month, puts forth a $1.5 trillion minimum for spending cuts across committees, featuring a target of $2 trillion. It also places a $4.5 trillion cap on the deficit impact of any Republican plan to continue with President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and includes an extra $300 billion in spending for the border and defense.
The resolution has also put the job on the House Energy and Commerce Committee of identifying a minimum of $880 billion in cuts to programs under its jurisdiction. In early March, the Congressional Budget Office issued a report finding the savings cannot be reached without affecting Medicaid and Medicare.
“At a time when families are already struggling to access affordable health care, moving forward with these cuts would be a betrayal of the very voters that sent leaders to Washington to lower costs, not to shred our nation’s social safety net,” the letter reads.
The groups pushed the upper chamber to “not to take up the House’s budget bill and instead commit to protecting Medicaid and the other critical health care programs on which your constituents rely for their health and well-being.”
The Hill has reached out to Thune’s office for comment.
