Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve the U.S. Senate’s amended reconciliation bill, legislation that both chambers now support despite clear warnings from health advocates, economists, and community leaders.

This bill carries forward the deeply damaging policies already approved by the Senate on July 1, 2025. Senate Republicans doubled down on even deeper Medicaid cuts, further slashed SNAP and safety-net programs, and financed massive tax breaks for wealthy individuals and big corporations.

Key dangers of the bill for Illinois now backed by both chambers:

• Deeper Medicaid cuts threaten health care access for millions of children, seniors, and people with disabilities; experts warn this could result in at least 11–17 million Americans losing coverage
• 460,000 people in Illinois will lose health coverage and become uninsured under the passed Reconciliation bill
• This bill cuts Medicaid for the state of IL by an additional $5.6 billion, over the original House bill, which the Senate expanded on and today the House passed. (from FFY 2025 through FFY 2034)
• Increased health and social costs, including SNAP reductions and work requirements, will disproportionately hit low-income families.
• Unlike the original House bill which exempted all parents, the bill passed today requires parents of children over 14 to meet the work requirement.
• 257,000 Illinoisans will lose their health coverage due to Congress adding in a work requirement to Medicaid.

Today’s action is not merely procedural, it’s a choice. Republicans in Congress have made their priorities clear. The consequences will be devastating and long-lasting, and the American people are watching.