Congressman Cleaver Considers Big Beautiful Bill Opinions From Constituents

Somebody from his office probably skims this blog every now and then so we figured this would be a good place to share his latest message with the newsletter poll omitted in favor of opening up the conversation to TKC readers . . .

EC From DC: Your Thoughts on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Hello Neighbor,

Last week, the House of Representatives passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which would rip healthcare away from nearly 14 million Americans, take food assistance away from millions more through cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and explode the national deficit by approximately $3.8 trillion to pay for tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest among us. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the legislation takes from the poorest Americans to give another tax break that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest in the nation.

The Treasury Department found that the extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would give an average annual tax cut of $32,118 for those in the top 1 percent and an average annual tax cut of $314,266 for those in the top 0.1 percent. Nearly half the net benefit of extending the law would go to the top 5 percent of households, or those making more than $450,000 per year. When adding additional tax breaks included in the latest budget proposal, the Penn Wharton Budget Model finds an average benefit of $44,365 for those in the top 1 percent and an average benefit of $389,290 for those in the top 0.1 percent.

While there is no question that Congress should extend tax cuts for middle- and working-class families, I believe it would be more fiscally responsible to pay for them by simply allowing tax cuts for those making more than $450,000 per year to expire. Instead, my conservative colleagues chose to extend tax cuts for high-earning families and cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid, SNAP, and the Affordable Care Act—which are essential programs for working-class families.

According to several analyses, the Republican budget proposal will have a major impact on our congressional district by:

- Ripping healthcare away from approximately 27,817 Missourians in the Fifth Congressional District, including 13,017 Missourians on Medicaid and 14,800 Missourians receiving coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Across the state, nearly 212,000 Missourians will lose health coverage through Medicaid and the ACA.
- Taking food assistance away from approximately 18,000 households in the Fifth Congressional District, with more than 150,000 households losing assistance from the SNAP program across the entire state.
- Increasing healthcare costs for Missourians who receive coverage through the ACA, blowing a $710 annual hole in the budget of the 49,000 Missourians who receive health coverage under the ACA.
- Increasing the cost of higher education for 12,625 students in Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District who receive Pell grants, which make college more affordable for working class families.

For those reasons, I voted against the legislation as currently written. However, with a high chance the bill will be sent back to the House of Representatives with modifications from the U.S. Senate, I wanted to get your thoughts . . .

As always, if you are in need of assistance with a federal agency or would like to share your opinion on an issue important to you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office by calling 816-842-4545 or emailing me here.

Sincerely,

Cleaver signature
Emanuel Cleaver, II
Member of Congress

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