Medicaid, SNAP, tax fairness and courage lose in Congress

"There were no profiles in courage in Congress this week. No one stepped up to be John McCain, who in 2017 boldly gave a thumbs-down on legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, single-handedly saving health care for millions of Americans.

"Over the last two days, the Senate and the House signed off on outrageous budget legislation that will accomplish much of what ACA-repeal proponents failed to do in 2017 — and so much more. As it showers the ultra-wealthy with tax breaks, the bill punches down at folks struggling to make ends meet by slashing Medicaid, the ACA marketplace and SNAP. Millions of Americans, and thousands of Iowans, will be worse off. 

"If that were not enough, the bill goes out of its way to punish and terrify immigrants, including refugees who in past generations were welcomed to our state by Iowa Republican leaders. The bill guts clean-energy initiatives that were poised to create good jobs as they helped preserve our planet for future generations. 

"All six members of Iowa’s delegation voted for this legislation, and their votes officially speak for Iowa. We deserve better. 

"Congressional Republicans cravenly structured the bill to distance themselves from the ugliness they created. Their dessert-first agenda immediately implements the tax cuts (mostly extensions of those passed in 2017) but defers most of the pain of health care and food assistance cuts until after the 2026 midterm elections, and in some cases after the 2028 presidential election. 

"That means tough decisions resulting from this legislation will extend out years and across the miles to state capitals, including Des Moines. 

"With their 'yes' votes, Iowa’s congressional delegation is leaving Iowa’s Legislature and Governor out to dry. It is state lawmakers who will be forced to decide exactly which of their constituents will lose Medicaid or SNAP and how much to cut education and other services to fill some of the gap. 

"They will make those choices against the backdrop of a state budget that is already strained from falling revenue, the result of state tax cuts that, like the federal ones, have done little for poor and working Iowans, but made the rich richer. 

"Common Good Iowa staff were honored to travel around the state this spring and summer, from Humboldt to Bettendorf and points between, talking with our fellow Iowans about the stakes of this legislation for their communities. There always was going to be more work to do to make our nation a better place for the largest share of people. Today the job just became bigger, but better solutions — solutions that stop punching down and start respecting our shared humanity — remain available."