[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 113 (Monday, June 30, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 H.R. 1

  Ms. ALSOBROOKS. Mr. President, I strongly oppose this cruel bill, 
which will unduly harm Marylanders and people across our country. The 
Congressional Budget Office has found that this bill would kick a 
million more people off of their healthcare coverage compared to the 
House bill. That means this bill--a bailout for billionaires--will come 
at the cost of 17 million losing their healthcare coverage. More 
specifically, the bill would kick 246,000 Marylanders off of their 
health coverage. Senate Republicans are making a policy choice to harm 
millions of Americans to benefit the wealthiest Americans.
  Altogether, the Senate bill cuts more than $1 trillion in healthcare 
for Americans. These cuts would hurt my home State of Maryland. In 
Maryland, Medicaid covers nearly 1.5 million people. That is a quarter 
of our population. This bill could cause over 160,000 Marylanders to 
lose coverage over the next 10 years. It is not beautiful to them.
  More veterans live in Maryland than any other State. Thousands of 
veterans depend on Medicaid to cover gaps in VA coverage for essential 
services like mental health care and long-term services and support. It 
is not beautiful to them.
  Undoing enrollment policies will also increase Medicare premiums for 
over 1 million seniors. And because they won't be able to afford 
essential medications, death rates among seniors will rise.
  New redtape requirements in Medicaid will terminate health coverage 
for up to 1.5 million children nationwide, and another 400,000 children 
will lose coverage because of these cuts that undo improvements to 
enrollment processes.
  I heard the fear and concern in a townhall this week. I have looked 
into the eyes of Marylanders terrified about losing their coverage.
  The immediate coverage losses are not the only thing in this 
heartless bill that will imminently harm Marylanders. This bill will 
cause hospitals to close. Specifically, it will cause rural hospitals, 
children's hospitals, and hospitals that serve low-income populations 
across the State of Maryland to close.
  Thus, this bill will have long lasting, and devasting impacts to my 
State of Maryland. I hereby enter into the record a motion to commit, 
which is very simple. It would prevent Medicaid cuts to children's 
hospitals, disproportionate share hospitals, and rural hospitals--
protecting the most vulnerable among us and preserving the access to 
care for my State of Maryland.

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