Schatz Votes Against Republican Bill That Will Take Health Care Away From 16 Million Americans, Raise Health Care Costs, Cut Food Assistance

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today voted against a Republican tax bill that will kick more than 16 million Americans off of health insurance, raise monthly health care costs across the country, and slash nutritional assistance for those in need – all in order to cut taxes for the ultra-wealthy.

“If enacted, the Republican tax bill will mean millions of people will lose health care coverage and everyone’s health care costs will go up. It’s worse than you think, but we can still stop it. The fight to kill this thing isn’t over yet. It’s up to all of us to keep doing whatever we can to make sure everyone knows just how terrible this bill really is,” said Senator Schatz. “Congress should be focused on lowering costs and improving people’s lives – this does the opposite.”

The Republican tax bill will cut coverage through Med-QUEST for more than 40,000 people in Hawai‘i, gut food assistance programs that more than 20,000 Hawai‘i families rely on, and raise the national debt by $3.3 trillion. The bill now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.