WASHINGTON–U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), both members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Tuesday hosted “The Big Beautiful Betrayal—Working Folks Pay While The Mega Rich Profit,” a spotlight forum to highlight how President Donald Trump and Republicans’ tax bill would make major spending cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other vital programs that families across the country rely on in order to pay for a massive tax cut for the ultra-wealthy. The forum featured individuals who could be affected by the tax bill’s massive cuts to government programs and subject-matter experts.

Murphy emphasized the Republican tax bill will disproportionately harm working class Americans, while directly benefiting the top 1%: “Why this bill feels like a betrayal is because, as written, it makes life infinitely harder for the very people that we are supposed to be fighting hardest for: the people who are working every day, playing by the rules, often dealing with traumas and difficult life circumstances… Upwards of 40% of all American households, if this bill is implemented, will be poorer – poorer – because of it, while the very rich and the very affluent will be much richer. The very richest families in this country will get an average $270,000 tax cut because of this bill.”

Murphy stressed that tens of thousands of Americans will die due to the Republican tax bill’s cuts to Medicaid: “When you're talking about almost $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, when you're talking about throwing upwards of 16 million people off of their health care, you are talking about life and death stakes. This isn't just about impacting the quality of someone's life. This is about ending people's lives. One research estimate is that 42,000 lives could be lost each year because of the disenrollments in [Medicaid] and the marketplace coverage.”

Murphy additionally highlighted that rural communities will be among those hardest hit by the Republican tax bill: “Up to 340 rural hospitals could close. 33 hospitals in Louisiana could close, 35 hospitals in Kentucky could close, 40% of the rural hospital capacity in Alaska could disappear if this bill is passed. So even if you keep your coverage, even if you are lucky enough not to be one of the people that are thrown off their care, your life could be impacted because your ability to get your loved one to an emergency room when you need it could disappear.” 

Murphy concluded: “This is bad policy, but it's fundamentally immoral. It's a moral abomination. And what we know is that we have power, that this bill has not passed, it has not been signed by the president. And until it has passed and until it is on the way to the White House, then we need to use every bit of leverage that we have to try to stop something that is this deeply unethical and immoral, contrary to the very best traditions of this country, from becoming law.”