This Bill Isn’t Working for the Working Class

To the editor,

I’m writing out of concern for what’s packed into the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” now moving through Congress.

Supporters say it helps working Americans, but rural communities like ours stand to lose the most. This bill would add red tape to Medicaid—requiring paperwork and proof of work hours that people in cities may have the time and internet access to manage, but that folks out here often don’t. That means more neighbors getting kicked off their healthcare, even if they’re working or caregiving or just between jobs.

Our small-town hospitals and clinics rely on Medicaid funding to stay open. If the bill passes as written, we could see real cuts that hit our ERs, our nurses, and our neighbors.

Meanwhile, billionaires and big corporations are getting permanent tax breaks. That’s not what we voted for. We were promised support for working families—not another round of giveaways to the wealthy while rural America gets squeezed.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates this bill - supposed to cut waste and save us money - will add over $3.4 TRILLION to the deficit over ten years (https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61537). That debt will need to be paid, and rural areas—often hardest hit by tight budgets—will bear the burden.

I hope Rep. Newhouse and others in Congress think twice before voting for a bill that punishes people just for living in a small town.

- Kathleen Bennett of White Salmon