The advertised purposes of this resolution are border security and defense. But this is a trojan horse.
I know that because we always pass bipartisan defense funding bills. And we had a bipartisan border security bill last year that Trump forced Republicans to abandon. So this budget bill is not needed to address defense or border funding.
Inside the trojan horse, we see clearly that this budget is an effort to dramatically cut support for programs that help everyday Virginians and everyday Americans so that those funds can be directed into tax cuts for the wealthy.
The dollars “saved” by cutting critical services like food stamps and Medicaid — combined with the tariffs that Trump is laying on American families that will make their lives more expensive — will go into a big pot that gets used to fund tax cuts for the rich.
4.5 trillion dollars of tax cuts.
I will fight this — I’ll offer amendments, I’ll try to protect Medicaid and other safety net programs, and I’ll work to get the bottom of what this budget would actually do to working people in our country.
But right now, let’s just be candid about what’s going on here: This is an effort to amass savings off the backs of everyday people, combine it with tariff revenue, and direct all that money into tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
Republicans can’t just trick people while agencies are being shut down left and right and programs that everyday people rely on are being ruthlessly cut — we see right through it, and we won’t stand by and let it happen.
If you agree that we need a budget that will actually help people, not hurt their lives and livelihoods, add your name to my petition to demand a common-sense budget that keeps critical safety net programs intact.
Thanks for reading and for speaking up.
-Tim Kaine
