00:00Now, speaking of cuts, I do want to transition to the GOP budget bill, which has proposed cuts to Medicaid, and then there are tax cuts.
00:10The administration is saying it wants to weed out waste, fraud, and abuse.
00:15Senator, what is your position on this budget bill, and what do people need to understand about which areas of American life could be most affected if it passes?
00:25Right. So a little over a week ago, in the middle of the night, House Republicans passed their budget reconciliation bill, what Donald Trump has been calling the big, beautiful bill, what we're calling the big, beautiful betrayal, because that's really what it is.
00:46In combination, the health care provisions would terminate the health insurance of about 14 million Americans, including just under 230,000 Wisconsinites.
01:00Some of those people would lose their Medicaid coverage, and some of those individuals would lose their health care through the Affordable Care Act because the Republicans intend to allow a tax credit to expire that helps low-income people be able to afford the premium for their private insurance in the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
01:2714 million Americans, 14 million Americans, their health care being terminated so that Republicans can finance a portion of their tax breaks for big corporations and the wealthy, stealing from those who are most vulnerable in our society to pay for these tax breaks.
01:4914 million Americans, it goes beyond health care, there's cuts in this measure to nutrition assistance programs, things that low-income individuals and families rely on to get the nutrition that they need if they are not able to pay for the grocery bill.
02:1114 million Americans, and we all know that those prices are going up all the time and may even be worse if Trump passes his tariff or puts his tariffs fully in place.
02:2514 million Americans, so this bill is really, in my mind, sort of like Robin Hood in reverse, taking from the most vulnerable in order to pay for a huge tax break for corporations and the wealthy.
02:4314 million Americans, and in the Senate, we are fighting to stop this from moving forward.
02:5114 million Americans, and in the Senate, we are fighting to stop this from moving forward.
02:5214 million Americans, my Republican colleagues have been hearing from their constituents about the cruel impact that cuts to Medicaid would have on seniors who are in nursing homes, on critical access hospitals that could close.
03:0814 million Americans, on people with disabilities, on people with disabilities, both children and adults who rely on Medicaid for both health care and services to allow them to live as independent a life as possible.
03:21And remember, a third of all children, their health care comes through Medicaid.
03:27So we're going to do everything we can to stop these devastating cuts.
03:32Doing everything you can. What does that look like? And do you think it's possible? Similar question that I asked with the NIH.
03:39Is it possible to get enough support from the Republican side to create a better path forward that perhaps doesn't affect as many millions of people as you just outlined?
03:50Right. So the the tactic we're using is as old as as as can be, and that is engaging the constituencies, engaging the people of each of our states to let their elected officials know whether that's House members or senators or even state legislators, because part of this measure is passing the burden to the states.
04:16And so there's a lot of folks there who are going to be left with huge challenges if they don't help us fight back.
04:25But what I can tell you, I've held 10 roundtables all across Wisconsin on the issue of Medicaid.
04:31They've gotten a lot of publicity and people are understanding that cuts to Medicaid are things that will hurt their neighbor who has a child with a significant disability and needs that needs that health care and those services.
04:48They understand if they're a caregiver for an elderly frail parent who needs skilled nursing care.
04:54This is about them and their families, and they are talking to my Republican counterparts.
05:01Now, the other thing I would say that we're finding, you know, they always say the expression politics makes strange bedfellows.
05:08And what I will tell you is that there are some, including my senior senator, who has looked at the bill that the House passed and said, this is going to worsen the deficit.
05:21It's going to worsen the debt.
05:23And I'm not going to pay for I'm not going to vote for it unless the cuts to government are even steeper.
05:33The cuts to programs like Medicaid and food stamps are even more severe than the ones already there.
05:40And then I have other Republican colleagues who are saying, wait a second.
05:45These cuts are way too steep right now.
05:48This is going to cause real harm to my constituents.
05:51So right now there are different groups of Republican senators who are expressing their misgivings about what the House passed.
06:02My prediction is that the Senate will Senate Republicans will write a new bill and and will try to figure out their path forward.
06:14But at this point in time, I don't think if the vote were held today that the bill that the House Republicans presented us with would pass.
06:24If the vote were held today, you don't think the bill that the House Republicans wrote would pass.
06:29That is an interesting prediction.
06:31We will have to have you back if if and when that comes to fruition.
06:35But we have about 30 seconds left.
06:37Is there anything else you would want the Forbes audience to understand about this budget bill and what happens next?
06:43Well, I would go to the point that I was just making about how much people's voices and their stories matter.
06:51So reach out. Don't be shy about calling your elected representatives, registering your opinions about how this measure would impact you, your neighbors, your communities, your state.
07:06Senator Taylor.
07:07Senator Taylor.
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