GOP Bill Would Cut Healthcare, Housing & Food Assistance, Veterans Benefits While Emboldening Musk-Trump Assault on Our Democracy

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement regarding her NO vote on Republicans’ shameful government budget bill, which would harm vulnerable families and provide a blank check for Elon Musk and Donald Trump to continue their unprecedented assault on our democracy.

“Republicans’ bill is an absolute disgrace that would harm everyone who calls the Massachusetts 7th and America home. Instead of helping people make ends meet, this bill would harm our most vulnerable by cutting essential health and food assistance programs that families, seniors, and veterans depend on to survive. Instead of helping people stay safely housed, this bill would slash affordable housing and put elders, veterans, domestic violence survivors, and folks with disabilities at risk of eviction. Instead of reigning in Elon Musk’s unlawful assault on our federal government, this bill provides a blank check for him to continue dismantling government services—all while doing nothing to fund local community projects or protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

“Simply put, this bad-faith bill would make people in my district and across the country hungrier, poorer, and sicker, and it would further embolden Elon Musk and Donald Trump to continue gutting essential services, ransacking federal agencies, and attacking our democracy. I voted NO on this harmful legislation and I urge Senators from every state to prioritize their constituents and hold the line and vote NO as well. I remain ready to work with anyone who is serious about advancing progress, alleviating harm, and doing the work of the people.”

Republicans’ harmful funding bill would:

• Fail to lower the cost of housing and instead cuts rent subsidies for low-income and working Americans by more than $700 million, leaving landlords to foot the bill for or evict more than 32,000 households including veterans, survivors of domestic violence, seniors, and families with disabilities.
   
• Allow Elon Musk and President Trump to fire thousands of employees at the Social Security Administration, which would result in closures of Social Security offices, increased wait times, and unacceptable backlogs for Americans trying to access their earned benefits.
   
• Enable Elon Musk to direct contracts to his companies like Starlink and SpaceX, while unvetted SpaceX employees have burrowed in the FAA, with no requirement for public transparency, fair competition, or Congressional approval – all while mission-critical jobs have been cut at the FAA and Elon Musk’s spaceships exploded during two failed space launches since January, causing major disruptions to air travelers.
   
• Cut Army Corps of Engineers construction projects that keep commerce safely flowing on our waterways, manage flood risk, and restore ecosystems by $1.4 billion, or 44 percent, and Elon Musk and President Trump, not Congress, will determine all project funding levels.
   
• Renege on veterans’ medical care and create future uncertainty. More veterans are enrolled in VA care than ever.While the bill includes $6 billion in mandatory funds to address an immediate funding shortfall, it fails to include $22.8 billion in fiscal year 2026 advanced funding for the Toxic Exposures Fund to care for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances that House Republicans included in their own funding bill last year. It also frees Elon Musk and President Trump to redirect funding meant for homelessness assistance grants, mental health care, rural health, opioid and substance abuse programs, some oncology programs, and caregivers support, however they see fit.
   
• Gives Elon Musk and President Trump broad discretion to eliminate individual programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including programs impacting coastal and Great Lakes areas, as well as funding for climate change research and for improvements in the forecasting of severe weather, after they already fired hundreds of weather forecasters. 

The bill cuts funding for nondefense programs and services by $13 billion while increasing defense spending by $6 billion compared to fiscal year 2024 enacted levels. 

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