NYS Democrats seek to turn Big Beautiful Bill against GOP

WASHINGTON — Republicans tout their passage last year of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, largely its tax cut provisions, as a major accomplishment that merits voters keeping them in control of the House.

But as the law’s tighter restrictions on Medicaid eligibility and other federal health spending cuts phase in, Democratic congressional campaigns on Long Island and across the country are waving it around as more of an indictment.

"One Big Ugly Bill," is how House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) described it this past week at a Buffalo event.

He focused on its slashing of federal Medicaid and other health and safety net spending by about $1 trillion over a decade. At least 10 million people will be losing their health insurance coverage because of its various provisions, congressional auditors have said.

More than 450,000 New Yorkers — including from 63,000 to 70,000 in Suffolk and Nassau counties — had already lost their state Essential Plan healthcare coverage as of July 1. State officials are blaming the federal funding cuts and lowered income-eligibility limits, affecting mostly middle-income residents who previously qualified.

Some of these people will be able to find other coverage, including with other federal subsidies. But hospital officials and other healthcare experts warn that many who are unable to afford other insurance will simply avoid seeking care, until their conditions get worse and they end up in emergency rooms.

"Ninety-eight days until we can change direction," Jeffries said in Buffalo, signaling that his party plans to undo some of the law’s provisions if it can take control House next year.

A net pick-up of just three or four seats by Democrats nationally in November could flip the current narrow GOP majority, with Long Island congressional districts viewed by some forecasters as among potential battlegrounds.

Opposing stances

In those districts, echoes of Jeffries can be heard. Democrat Chris Gallant of Amity Harbor, running against GOP Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), accuses LaLota of "a direct role" in having "kicked nearly a half a million New Yorkers off their health insurance."

Gallant adds that he believes Long Island families feel their lives has gotten more expensive under the congressman’s watch, "and Nick LaLota will have to answer for it."

But LaLota, like some other Republicans, gives no ground in defending the new law, which was passed through a fast-track process and signed by Trump last July. He repeatedly emphasizes that it raises to $40,000 the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap through tax-year 2029 for households with an adjusted gross income of $500,000 or less, along with other tax relief for working people.

Republicans also dismiss criticism that a larger share of the law’s tax cuts goes to wealthy earners at the same time it cuts safety net programs — or that the law adds an estimated $3.4 trillion to $4.2 trillion over a 10-year window to the national debt.

They underscore how the bill contains needed reforms to maintain the integrity of Medicaid and other programs to keep costs down.

"Republicans passed tax cuts averaging nearly $3,000 for Long Island families by asking able-bodied adults to work for certain benefits and limiting federal benefits for many noncitizens. Democrats opposed it," LaLota said. "That's the difference between being the party of working people and the party of noncitizens that defends an ever-expanding welfare state."

Public confusion

A new poll from Politico shows that nearly half of Americans still haven’t heard of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or can’t explain what’s contained in it, even as Republicans talk-up lifting the SALT deduction cap and new deductions on such things as tips and overtime.

The July poll also found that Americans in general think the new law and its tax cuts help the wealthy far more than the working class.

It is against this public fuzziness that both parties seek an upper hand in defining the bill for voters, as being either more beautiful or more ugly. The arguments mostly highlight either the billions of dollars in individual or business tax cuts, or tax provision extensions that were scheduled to expire a the end of this year, or the law's impacts on health and safety net programs starting to hit three months before the election.

Issues also include cuts and policy changes to such things as how New York funds health providers like hospitals and clinics. There are also new limitations on Medicare and other health coverage for people who are not citizens, even if they are in the U.S. legally. And one of the most publicized changes — beginning Jan. 1, 2027 — imposes new work and income-reporting requirements for Medicaid eligibility that critics say will make it challenging for more people to keep coverage.

Kenneth E. Raske, president and CEO of the Greater New York Hospital Association, said in an interview, "We are just now beginning to see the impacts."

One big result of these cumulative policy changes and cuts, Raske said, is to "just increase the fiscal pressure on all of our institutions." The stark reality, he said is that "these people will get sick without health insurance coverage, and we (still) take care of them. Capisce?"

'Major wins'

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) is among Republicans the hospital association has previously found responsive to concerns over health funding issues, and there are talks now with him about concerns with One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

But Garbarino nonetheless is firmly defending the new law.

"This bill delivered major wins for Long Island by quadrupling the SALT deduction, cutting taxes for seniors and expanding the Child Tax Credit," he said. "These provisions help families across Long Island keep more of their hard-earned money."

Garbarino also says the law strengthens Medicaid for those who depend on it, but requires able-bodied adults to work, volunteer, attend school or participate in job-training in order to receive the benefits.

Patrick Halpin, the Oak Beach Democrat running for Garbarino’s congressional seat, suggests the congressman is hoping Long Islanders "won't notice that the SALT deduction expires in less than three years, while many of its tax cuts for the wealthy are permanent."

Halpin said, "these temporary tax savings are being eaten up by higher grocery bills and gas prices, skyrocketing health insurance costs, and the loss of billions in funding for New York's hospitals and community health centers with even deeper cuts coming after the midterms."