Rep. Jim Costa Votes Against Republicans’ Reckless Budget Resolution

WASHINGTON – Congressman Jim Costa released the following statement after he voted against Congressional Republicans’ reckless budget resolution, H.Con.Res 14, which would establish the congressional budget for the federal government for Fiscal Year 2025.

“In less than 100 days, President Trump and Republicans have created economic chaos. Trump’s tariffs are driving up costs, crashing the stock market, and squeezing the pocketbooks of Americans. Now, Republicans are gutting Medicaid, SNAP, housing programs, and other critical lifelines with the biggest cuts in history. I voted against this reckless budget resolution because turning our backs on America’s safety isn’t leadership, it’s cruelty. I won’t stop fighting back.” said Congressman Costa.

BACKGROUND
Congressional Republicans passed a budget resolution that unlocks the next step in the budget reconciliation process and will allow committees in both the House and the Senate to begin drafting legislation to meet their targets, but Republicans long ago leaked their menu of options.

• Energy and Commerce Committee to cut at least $880 billion, which will lead to deep cuts to Medicaid – impacting 456,532 Medicaid enrollees in Costa’s district, and over 1.8 million enrollees in the San Joaquin Valley.
   
• Agriculture Committee to cut at least $230 billion from nutrition assistance, which would cause over 131,000 people in Costa’s district to lose SNAP/food stamps.
   
• Oversight and Reform Committee to cut at least $50 billion, which would endanger government employee retirement benefits and further cut the federal workforce.
   
• Education and Workforce Committee to cut at least $330 billion targeting student loan programs, income-driven repayment, Pell grants, and school meals.
   
• Financial Services Committee to cut at least $1 billion in funding for rental assistance, and housing programs
   
• Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to claw back $10 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, preventing further investments in the San Joaquin Valley and California.  

This also instructs the House Ways and Means Committee to approve tax cuts of $4.5 trillion over 10 years, while raising the deficit without accountability.

The Yale Budget Lab found that the bottom 40 percent of Americans would see their costs go up and 70 percent of the benefits from the Republican budget would go to the richest 5 percent.  According to data from the House Budget Democrats, over 1.8 million people across the San Joaquin Valley depend on Medicaid – that’s larger than the state of West Virginia’s entire population.