[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 77 (Thursday, May 8, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H1923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       MEDICAID IS NOT A HANDOUT

  (Ms. DEXTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, House Republicans' all-out attack on 
Medicaid is morally indefensible.
  In my district alone, over 255,000 Oregonians, including 59 percent 
of our children, rely on Medicaid for lifesaving care.
  These aren't just numbers. They are the cancer patients fighting for 
their lives, children with disabilities getting essential support, and 
seniors reliant on long-term care.
  Republicans want to slash hundreds of billions of dollars from the 
Medicaid committee, gutting healthcare for the most vulnerable, while 
billionaires and corporations get another payday.
  As a critical care physician, I know what this means. Without 
Medicaid, patients go without preventive care. They get sicker. They 
defer lifesaving medications. Too often, they don't survive.
  Medicaid is not a handout. It is a lifeline. Cutting it to fund tax 
breaks for the ultrawealthy is unconscionable because healthcare is a 
human right. It is not a bargaining chip.
  Oregon won't stand for these cuts, and neither will I.

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