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Over the last month, we’ve all been reminded that the federal government isn’t some faceless entity. The federal government, which the Trump administration is in the midst of haphazardly slashing, is made up of mothers, fathers, scientists, laborers, caregivers, protectors, safety inspectors, disaster responders, peacemakers.
These real people, in Maine and every other state, are losing their jobs to the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, which isn’t even a real government department, with real safeguards and requirements for transparency.
These workers, even the employees of DOGE are belatedly discovering, do vital work that keeps Americans safe and secure. They also run and maintain operations, like national parks, that bring billions of dollars into the U.S. economy.
Take federal employees, about a third of whom are veterans, and federal funding out of our economy, and a downward spiral is all but inevitable, some economists warn.
Yet, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives this week persisted in passing a budget blueprint that would further slash federal spending, largely to pay for extending $4.5 trillion in tax cuts that primarily benefit wealthy Americans. Cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and food stamps are likely to be a significant part of the budget package, which seeks to slash $2 trillion in federal spending over the next decade.
The spending and tax cut plan narrowly passed the House on Tuesday, 217-215, along party lines with only one Republican voting against it. Several House Republicans want even deeper spending cuts.
Medicaid, often maligned by Republicans, is an essential health care program for millions of Americans. It is also a significant source of funding for hospitals, nursing homes, doctors, programs that care for children and adults with disabilities, and other care providers. Significant cuts to Medicaid, as House Republicans are proposing, would have devastating impacts on rural communities and the people who live there.
“More than 160,000 working-class Mainers rely on the ACA and Medicaid, and this budget resolution puts their health care on the chopping block to fund tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy and corporations,” 2nd Congressional District Rep. Jared Golden, who voted against the resolution, said in a statement on Tuesday. 1st District Rep. Chellie Pingree also voted against the resolution.
“What’s more, this bill adds trillions to the federal debt, which is already threatening to crowd out critical programs like Medicare and Social Security,” Golden added. “Americans deserve and Congress can do better than harmful cuts, irresponsible deficit spending and unnecessary tax cuts for those at the top.”
Despite all the spending cuts eyed by House Republicans, their tax package would still add nearly $3 trillion to the federal deficit.
The U.S. Senate passed its own, much smaller, budget resolution last week. Its package passed along party lines with Sen. Susan Collins voting for it and Sen. Angus King voting against it. That budget plan includes $175 billion for border security and $150 billion in additional funding for the Defense Department. But, it puts off a debate on spending cuts and a tax cut package to a later time. President Donald Trump favors the more sweeping — and harmful — House package. Collins did vote for several amendments, which failed, that would have limited tax breaks, especially if Medicaid was cut.
Because Republican leaders are using a budget process that requires only majority votes, Democrats have little to no power to stop these spending cuts. So, it is up to the people of Maine and the country to learn about the consequences of these cuts and to make their concerns widely known to their elected representatives. Polling shows that the massive Medicaid cuts supported by House Republicans are unpopular, especially if they are made to pay for tax cuts.
We understand that allowing tax cuts that were passed by Congress in 2017 to expire will result in tax increases for most Americans. However, there are much smarter ways to extend targeted tax cuts to help working-class Americans.
We have also long said that the federal government can be more effective and spend less money. But remaking the federal government needs to be done in a coherent and thoughtful way, informed by the essential work of the nation’s inspectors general, rather than the sloppy and cruel way that DOGE, run by Elon Musk, is currently rampaging through government agencies.
Likewise, spending cuts — where deemed necessary based on the need for federal services and support, not just as a means to pay for budget-busting tax cuts — must be made in a thoughtful way that does not harm the lives of millions of Americans or depress our economy.
The House Republican budget blueprint fails on all counts.
