'Big beautiful bill:' Wisconsin lawmakers react to House passage

MILWAUKEE - The U.S. House of Representatives passed the latest iteration of the "big beautiful bill" on Thursday, sending the spending measure to President Donald Trump.

‘Big beautiful bill’ passes House

The backstory:

The 940-page "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," as it is now formally titled, cuts spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending tax cuts.

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Thursday's vote was the second in the House after a rocky few days in Congress. 

A marathon session in the Senate that began over the weekend featured intense negotiations, a 16-hour read-through of the bill and over 24 hours of voting on amendments. The bill only passed when Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote.

That was followed by a lengthy House vote to reconcile the two versions of the bills and then a record-setting speech on the House floor by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that served to delay, but not prevent, the bill's adoption.

Trump is expected to sign the bill, possibly on July 4.

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Official statements

What they're saying:

FOX6 News has received statements from Wisconsin's congressional delegation on the bill's passage. They are listed below in the order in which they were received.

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore

"Republicans claim Democrats are lying or exaggerating about the impact of this big ugly bill: the 17 million Americans losing their health care, the children who will lose access to SNAP and school meals, and the tax goodies that will flow to billionaires and big corporations. But the American people know this bill will hurt them, and that’s why it’s unpopular.

"This bill will gut funding for nursing homes, reproductive health care, health care for children, seniors, and people with disabilities while taking food out of the mouths of everyday Americans struggling to get by. This legislation even strips away SNAP benefits for veterans, foster youth, and homeless Americans, something I actively fought against and raised with House leadership. There is truly no bottom to this bill’s cruelty.

"Republicans have been warned of these consequences yet still drive our country down this awful path. They continue to peddle their talking points to assuage their guilty consciences.

"I join my Democratic colleagues in voting no on this legislation, and I feel for the millions of Americans who will suffer because Republicans abandoned their promise to not cut Medicaid."

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil

"This bill is a win for Wisconsin workers, families, and seniors. The bill prioritizes American families over illegal immigrants, delivers a $6,000 tax cut for seniors, implements work requirements for able-bodied adults, invests in securing our border, and encourages and rewards hard work with no tax on tips and overtime. We saved American taxpayers more than $1 trillion and did so while protecting Social Security and Medicare benefits for our seniors and strengthening Medicaid for vulnerable Americans. I look forward to President Trump signing this legislation into law."

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin

"Today, Republicans chose to put their super-rich friends over working families. They chose to gut Medicaid, decimate our rural hospitals, and terminate health care for 17 million Americans – including more than 250,000 Wisconsinites. They chose to take food from hungry families and raise the cost of going to the grocery store for millions more. These are choices that Donald Trump and Republicans made because they wanted to rig our tax code for big corporations and the wealthiest in our country.

"Instead of listening to hard-working Wisconsin families who are looking for some relief and opportunity to save and live a comfortable life, Republicans turned their backs on them, taking away their health care and raising their costs.

"We can do so much better than this to address the real issues Wisconsin families are facing, but Republicans chose not to."

U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman

"The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill is a historic victory for Americans, as we’ve avoided the largest tax hike in our nation’s history. The American people gave us a mandate after four years of failure under President Biden to revive prosperity in our country. I’m proud to stand with Congressional Republicans and President Trump to deliver a bill that works in the best interests of Americans. The One Big Beautiful Bill strengthens our government programs for the people they were intended to serve, while rooting out the waste, fraud, and abuse that have plagued our systems for far too long. Hardworking Americans will see the benefits of our commonsense conservative policies. I was proud to vote yes to help move America toward further greatness." 

What they're saying:

Additional public officials and organizations also commented on the bill Thursday. Those statements, too, are listed below in the order in which they were received.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley

"In Milwaukee County, we depend on federal funding to invest in our community and provide essential services that our residents rely on every day. Federally-funded programs like Medicaid and Medicare ensure access to healthcare, prescriptions, and mental health services. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, helps to put healthy, nutritious foods on the table for children and families. Federally-funded housing programs help residents build generational wealth and keep our neighborhoods stable and thriving.

"Federal funding supports the health and well-being of our residents, our community, and our neighborhoods. But with the passage of this federal budget, all of that is under attack.

"I am deeply concerned about the negative impacts that the budget heading to President Trump’s desk will have on Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, and the entire nation. It strips away critical support that helps people survive, especially in our most vulnerable communities. Residents in both urban and rural areas will lose healthcare coverage. Children and families will lose access to healthy foods. Any meaningful efforts to reinvest back into our community are now in jeopardy. This is not just bad policy. These cuts will cause real harm to real people. It is a betrayal of the people we were elected to serve.

"While we don’t have the power to undo the federal budget, we are committed to doing everything in our power to soften the blow to our community. My administration will monitor the impacts of the budget as its implemented and continue engaging our partners to identify resources, fight for every dollar we can, and advocate for long-term investments in the community.

"At the end of the day, I am committed to working to invest in our people, foster stronger neighborhoods, and build the bright, healthy future we all deserve. We will keep fighting, even in the face of decisions that make that fight harder."

Democratic Party of Wiscosin Executive Director Sara Abel

"These Republican thieves, led by Derrick Van Orden, are stealing funding for health care and food security from children, veterans and seniors, and giving that money to billionaires whose only recent problem in life was debating what to wear to Jeff Bezos’s wedding. So while these same burglars masquerading as politicians toast their ‘success’, working Wisconsin families will be frantically trying to figure out how to pay their medical bills and put food on the table — two things that elected officials like Derrick Van Orden get to enjoy on the taxpayers' dime. We will be holding him and those who supported this betrayal of Wisconsin’s working families accountable until they are defeated at the ballot box."

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