{"id":12389,"date":"2025-07-01T04:18:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T04:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/?p=12389"},"modified":"2025-07-01T04:18:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T04:18:08","slug":"meet-some-people-who-would-feel-the-effects-of-trumps-big-beautiful-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/?p=12389","title":{"rendered":"Meet some people who would feel the effects of Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As Republicans in the House and Senate sprint to pass President Donald Trump\u2019s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act<\/a>, we found Americans in their own scramble, poring over the bill\u2019s hundreds of pages and trying to determine how their lives might change.<\/p>\n

Here’s a little of what they told us:<\/p>\n

SNAP and Medicaid cuts<\/h3>\n
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Tanja, who asked to not use her last name, receives both Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, that could be cut under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ABC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To try to pay for the bill’s trillions of dollars in tax cuts, congressional Republicans are cutting or changing the funding mechanisms for programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the vital food assistance initiative.<\/p>\n

Tanja, who asked that we not use her last name, is on both.<\/p>\n

Sitting in her wheelchair next to her loyal service dog Zoe, she told ABC News she\u2019s never followed a bill this closely. She\u2019s living paycheck-to-paycheck and can\u2019t afford the specific foods her doctors say she needs without SNAP.<\/p>\n

Tanja:<\/strong> There is not a lot left over in my monthly allowance for anything.<\/p>\n

O’Brien:<\/strong> You really seem to live paycheck-to-paycheck<\/p>\n

Tanja:<\/strong> Yeah, even\u2026<\/p>\n

O’Brien:<\/strong> Even worse?<\/p>\n

Tanja:<\/strong> Even worse. Worse than that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way it’s going right now, and it’s not just me, we’re all scared,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The Senate version of the megabill cuts agriculture programs by roughly $186 billion, most of which will come out of SNAP.<\/p>\n

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Ruben Bastell, is a lab technician at a New York-area hospital where he says roughly four in 10 patients are on Medicaid.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ABC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

And, health care providers are concerned, too.<\/p>\n

Ruben Bastell is a lab technician at a New York hospital, where he says roughly four in 10 patients are on Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income Americans and those with disabilities.<\/p>\n

The current version of the budget bill imposes new work requirements on Medicaid recipients and increases the required paperwork to verify eligibility.<\/p>\n

It would also start to cut what’s known as the provider tax, which helps fund state obligations to Medicaid, in 2028<\/p>\n

Both could result in millions less on the program and, Bastell warns, could upend parts of the U.S. health care system.<\/p>\n

Bastell:<\/strong> Eventually hospitals are going to have to close their doors .<\/p>\n

O’Brien:<\/strong> What is that going to do to patient care in general?<\/p>\n

Bastell:<\/strong> Patient care? It’s definitely going to delay it. A lot of patients won\u2019t be able to get treated.<\/p>\n

Republicans say those concerns are overblown and they are making both Medicaid and SNAP more sustainable by targeting waste, fraud and abuse in both programs.<\/p>\n

The bill\u2019s changes to Medicaid are expected to cause 11.8 million Americans to lose their insurance, according to a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.<\/p>\n

Slashing green energy tax incentives<\/h3>\n
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Micah Gold-Markel, owns Solar States in Philadelphia, which trains inner city residents for jobs in the solar industry. He says he might have to lay off half of his employees if Biden-era green energy tax incentives are phased out.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ABC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In addition to cuts in programs like Medicaid and SNAP to help pay for the bill, the legislation phases out Biden-era green energy tax incentives, particularly for wind and solar power.<\/p>\n

Micah Gold-Markel is deeply nervous about that.<\/p>\n

His small Philadelphia company Solar States has swelled in the last few years, thanks to increased demand because of those tax incentives. Now, he\u2019s worried he may need to fire half of his employees if those credits are rolled back.<\/p>\n

Many of his employees voted for Trump, he says, in the must-win state of Pennsylvania. And now their jobs could be on the line because of his bill.<\/p>\n

Gold-Markel:<\/strong> The hardest part of being a business owner is laying people off. Hands down, hands down\u2026<\/p>\n

O’Brien:<\/strong> Are you worried you’re going to have to do that more?<\/p>\n

Gold-Markel:<\/strong> (tears up) I’m really worried about that, yeah.<\/p>\n

Gold-Markel has been driving back and forth from his warehouse to Capitol Hill, lobbying against slashing the green energy incentives. And while the Senate has lessened how quickly some of the tax credits will get phased out, he and the others in his industry have largely been unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think some [lawmakers] think that the jobs are not real. And I don’t know, other than to come in front of them and to tell them I was born in West Philly. This is my job. I don’t know what else to say to them, and some of them still look you in the face, and they just don’t believe you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Taxes and Trump accounts<\/h3>\n
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Matt Caliente, a former firefighter and president of the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey, said no taxes on overtime could result in \u201cthousands of dollars\u201d for firefighters.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ABC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In Englewood, New Jersey, we met firefighters who, between juggling 911 calls, are also watching Congress closely. But they\u2019re excited.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s bill includes a key campaign promise: no federal income taxes on tips and overtime. And while some service workers have celebrated the tips portion, the firefighters we met are focused on their OT. They work a lot of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be in the thousands of dollars that a firefighter could get. More of a refund when they do the taxes, for sure,\u201d said Matt Caliente, a former firefighter and president of the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey. The union\u2019s national arm has endorsed the overtime provision of the bill.<\/p>\n

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ABC News\u2019 Jay O\u2019Brien speaks with Ed Zebrowski, a Cape May, New Jersey, firefighter who said eliminating taxes on overtime \u201clightens the burden for your family.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ABC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt certainly lightens the burden for your family. Pays for things like childcare and some rest, some vacations,\u201d Ed Zebrowski, a Cape May, New Jersey, firefighter added.<\/p>\n

Another section causing some excitement — so-called \u201cTrump accounts\u201d — investment accounts for newborns — would open with a one-time deposit from the federal government of $1,000.<\/p>\n

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Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber speaks with ABC News.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ABC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201c[These] initiatives are going to Main Street and America and helping everyday people succeed,\u201d Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said recently at a White House event.<\/p>\n

The bill also includes a roughly $4 trillion tax cut, largely by making Trump\u2019s 2017 tax law permanent before it was due to expire. Because the law is currently on the books, most Americans largely won\u2019t see a change to their yearly tax filings because of this bill, but they also won\u2019t pay more.<\/p>\n

Blocking AI regulation<\/h3>\n
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Marty Jackley, South Dakota Attorney General speaks with ABC News.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ABC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Another provision buried in the bill — which came as a surprise to some House Republicans who say they didn\u2019t read it before voting on it — is a ban on any state or local regulations on artificial intelligence for 10 years.<\/p>\n

The move would block laws on the books in more than 20 states, including those covering AI scams, election misinformation and explicit deepfake images of children.<\/p>\n

Marty Jackley, South Dakota\u2019s attorney general, said the state’s Legislature worked hard to pass its bans on AI-generated misinformation and deepfakes and he\u2019s calling on fellow Republicans in Congress to change course.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll it does is prevent the states that already have laws in place from protecting our citizens against AI-generated child porn, against election manipulation and consumer fraud,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

ABC News’ Mariam Khan, Isabella Murray, John Parkinson, Allison Pecorin, Lauren Peller, Joe Locasio and Cameron Krakowiak contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Republicans in the House and Senate sprint to pass President Donald Trump\u2019s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act, we found Americans in their own scramble, poring over the bill\u2019s hundreds of pages and trying to determine how their lives might change. Here’s a little of what they told us: SNAP and Medicaid cuts Tanja, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12389"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12391,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12389\/revisions\/12391"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}