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SIX REASONS WHY THE HOUSE BUDGET BILL WILL HURT RURAL AMERICA  
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Michael Chameides
May 19, 2025
Barn Raiser
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_ Republicans in Congress are jamming through a sweeping bill to fund
handouts to the rich. _

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) is seen with other Democrats during a House
Budget Committee markup of a budget reconciliation bill on Capitol
Hill May 16, 2025. , Francis Chung, POLITICO via AP Images

 

Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make
historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another
round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations. The House
majority will be advancing their bill to the floor in the next few
days. With their narrow majority, it will need every vote to pass.

As the Communications and Policy Director for the Rural Democracy
Initiative [[link removed]], I’ve been
hearing from rural leaders across the country about the devastating
impacts this bill would have. The good news is it’s not too late.
But there is little time to spare.

On Friday, five Republicans in the House Budget Committee—including
four members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus—joined all
Democrats on the committee in blocking the bill from reaching the
House floor. But some of the opposition want even deeper cuts to
programs like Medicaid to offset exorbitant tax cuts for the rich. 

Now is the time to make sure every member of the House of
Representatives knows how we feel. Here is the current expected
timeline for activity on the legislation. 

SUNDAY, MAY 18 – MONDAY, MAY 19: The House Budget Committee
reconvenes at 10 p.m. Sunday to markup and package the legislation
into one bill. The bill also has to go to the Rules Committee before
it goes to the Floor Rules Committee.

[Update Monday, May 19: four Republican holdouts voted “present”
rather than “no” late Sunday night to advance the bill out of the
Budget Committee.]

TUESDAY, MAY 20 – FRIDAY, MAY 23: House Floor action.

Congress is working to pass this sweeping bill using a budget maneuver
called “reconciliation.” While this process allows the bill to
pass the Senate with fewer votes, it also complicates the process by
only allowing policies that impact the budget to be included.
President Trump and congressional Republicans have also decided that,
rather than passing multiple pieces of legislation, they will enact
major changes to government in a giant, fast-tracked bill that will
have sweeping impacts across the country.

This is an incredibly nontransparent, partisan, inefficient way to
enact legislation. Still, it is nearly their only option to enact
extremely unpopular changes that will raise prices and take away
critical programs that benefit working people to give tax breaks and
handouts to the rich. 

THE STAKES FOR RURAL PEOPLE

This dangerous reconciliation bill would increase costs for rural
working families by thousands of dollars per year
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leaving millions hungry and without healthcare, to provide tax breaks
and handouts to the wealthy and special interests. Here are just six
of the worst provisions:

1. GUTS RURAL HEALTHCARE

The bill will take healthcare away from 13.8 million Americans and
increase the cost for millions more. In some states, 50% of rural
children
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get healthcare from Medicaid. Millions of people rely on access to
clinics and hospitals that would likely close because of these cuts. 

2. TAKES FOOD OFF THE TABLES OF RURAL PEOPLE

The plan includes approximately $290-$319 billion in cuts to SNAP (the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food
stamps) even as the cost of groceries continues to escalate. More than
15%
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of families in small towns and rural areas rely on this support to
feed their families. 

3. SHIFTS COSTS TO STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

State and local governments in rural states depend more on federal
funding from programs like SNAP and Medicaid than other states.
Slashing federal funding to states will create new burdens for rural
states that are already struggling to provide critical public services
like healthcare, transportation and emergency response services to
local communities. 

4. TAKES AWAY LOCAL CONTROL

Landowners have fought to stop the use of eminent domain for carbon
pipelines by passing bans and moratoria, as well as enacting county
setbacks and safety requirements to protect their communities. The
bill would create a new federal process that overrules state and local
laws and ordinances, overrides local voices and deprives residents of
a fair opportunity to evaluate the adverse impacts of pipeline
construction and operation. The bill preserves the tax credit that is
driving carbon pipeline proposals, and it would set up a “pay to
play” system under which companies can pay for pipeline, mining and
drilling permits, and avoid public comment and legal challenges. 

5. ENDS CLEAN ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE TAX CREDITS AND FUNDING

The bill would phase out the tax credits for wind, solar, batteries,
geothermal, clean energy and advanced manufacturing. It would also
rescind $262 million in funding for energy efficiency and conservation
grants as well as transportation infrastructure. Ending the tax
credits is projected to increase household energy costs by 2-7%
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which are already higher in many rural communities. These changes are
projected to reduce clean energy projects by 57-72%, and jeopardize
the $522 billion of investment in clean energy manufacturing
facilities and installations. 

6. PROVIDES HANDOUTS TO AGRIBUSINESS AND MEGA FARMS

Leaders in Congress have failed to negotiate a new farm bill
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they continue to prioritize increasing payment triggers known as
reference prices for a small number of mega farms rather than
reforming the farm safety net to support all farmers. Now they are
using the budget reconciliation process to eliminate payment limits
and give those big farms a $50 billion windfall with no plan to pass a
farm bill this year
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Add the heightened pressures and instability caused by the Trump
administration’s erratic trade policy, more farmers will lose their
farms, while big farms continue to grow. 

While GOP leaders insist that they are cutting trillions in
healthcare, food assistance, clean energy and more in order to root
out “waste, fraud and abuse,” taking away basic services and
making life more unaffordable does nothing to address any of these.
Rather than making it harder for people to meet their basic needs and
take care of their families, Congress should address waste and fraud
by stopping corporate price gouging, curbing profits, breaking up
monopolies that abuse consumers and making the wealthy and
corporations pay their fair share of taxes like the rest of us.

RURAL VOICES MATTER

Hearing directly from rural voters will have a significant impact on
whether this bill moves forward and what it ultimately includes. Here
are three actions that you can take right now to ensure we apply the
maximum amount of pressure on members of Congress: 

* Post on social media platforms and tag your congressional
representatives.
* Encourage your entire community to call or write Congress about
this bill. The Congressional Hotline is available in English and
Spanish 866-426-2631. You can also use this line to organize a
volunteer phone bank.
* To make sure you’re heard, visit your local congressional office
yourself or with a group to express your opinion.

This legislation contains many unpopular ideas and terrible trade-offs
for working families, but those who will be most impacted by the
devastating changes to Medicaid, food stamps, energy policy, etc., are
largely unaware. It’s up to us to alert our communities and engage
constituents in taking action in-district, where they can have the
greatest influence on their representatives. 

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Michael Chameides is Rural Democracy Initiative’s Communications and
Policy Director and supports a rural network to engage communities and
advocate for meaningful policy. As deputy minority leader on the
Columbia County, NY, Board of Supervisors, he led successful
affordable housing and public transit initiatives. He is the recipient
of the 2023 Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation Friend of Labor Award.
In 2022, the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement recognized his
advocacy for immigrants and named him an Anniversary Honoree.

* Rural American; Republican House Bill; House Freedom Caucus; Rural
Democracy Initiative;
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