116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
‘We all deserve to be happy and healthy’: Iowans decry proposed federal budget cuts, tax breaks
National bus tour rolls through Cedar Rapids to rally opposition to Trump’s tax breaks and spending cuts package
Jun. 29, 2025 6:34 pm, Updated: Jun. 30, 2025 7:58 am
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
As the U.S. Senate pushes through its version of a budget reconciliation bill, local officials, a health care provider and Iowa Medicaid recipient on Sunday warned that deep cuts to essential programs will harm Iowa’s families, communities and economy.
Iowa U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley were among 51 Senate Republicans who voted late Saturday to advance President Donald Trump’s package of tax breaks, cutbacks to Medicaid, food assistance and green energy investments, and increased spending on defense, immigration and border security.
With Saturday’s vote, the bill narrowly cleared a key procedural step as the Senate races to advance Trump’s sweeping domestic policy package by his July 4 deadline.
Neither Ernst nor Grassley had issued public statements regarding their votes as of Sunday afternoon.
The “Stop the Billionaire Giveaway” bus tour, led by Fair Share America and Unrig Our Economy, hosted a community town hall Sunday at the downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library. The 45-foot bus, wrapped in a trillion-dollar-bill graphic, is traveling across 14 states, from New York to California, to raise awareness about what it views as tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of everyday Americans.
During the Cedar Rapids stop, speakers called on Iowa’s federal delegation to reject any bill that rolls back Medicaid and food aid in favor of tax breaks that disproportionately favor corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
“This is what I would consider, what I would call idiocracy,” said Garret Frey, a quadriplegic who relies on Medicaid.
The 43-year-old disability rights activist won a U.S. Supreme Court case as a teenager who needed help to attend high school. Last year, he won concessions under Iowa’s Medicaid program to help him live at home instead of in a facility.
“Our voices need to be heard,” Frey said of Iowans affected by Medicaid cuts. “ … Any one of us at any moment can become disabled or poor and face any kind of challenges,” where if not for a robust government safety net program they would face increased financial hardship.
“Job security is not a given,” Frey said. “ … We all deserve to be happy and healthy.”
‘One Big Beautiful Bill’
Dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the package includes extending and modifying tax cuts passed by Republicans in 2017, while reducing spending on safety-net programs, including Medicaid and food assistance.
Congressional Republicans — including Iowa’s U.S. House members — have said the bill delivers on Trump's domestic agenda, including securing the border, increasing domestic energy production and preventing tax increases that would occur if the 2017 tax cuts expire. It also includes provisions exempting federal taxes on tips and overtime pay, and increased tax relief for seniors.
The legislation includes restrictions on Medicaid, which provides government-sponsored health care for low-income and disabled Americans. Like the House-passed bill, the Senate legislation imposes work requirements for some able-bodied adults and more frequent eligibility checks.
The Senate parliamentarian determined that changes to how states can tax Medicaid providers do not comply with Senate rules. The parliamentarian also struck a provision that lowers federal funding for states that use state money to provide Medicaid to undocumented immigrants.
The former faced objections from several senators worried about the fate of rural hospitals. State and national hospital groups have warned that plans by Senate Republicans to scale back a Medicaid provider tax that states like Iowa use to fund their Medicaid program could deal a greater financial blow to rural hospitals.
Hospital networks have said they might reduce pediatric, maternity or behavioral health services; close rural facilities; or lay off workers if the Medicaid changes become law, according to a recent member survey by the American Medical Group Association.
The new version extends the start date for those cuts and establishes a $25 billion fund to aid rural hospitals and providers.
Other changes in the Senate version of the bill include a faster phaseout of tax credits for wind and solar projects, and an increase in the cap on the state and local tax deduction demanded by lawmakers in the House.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the Senate version of the reconciliation bill will add some $3.3 trillion to deficits over the next decade, and result in nearly 12 million more uninsured people by 2034, according to Axios.
Republicans have pushed back against the CBO's projections, arguing the tax cuts, paired with other Trump administration policies, will foster economic growth that reduces federal deficits.
The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers projects the bill could lead to a deficit reduction of $2.1 trillion to $2.3 trillion over the next decade. The White House economists estimate the tax cuts, combined with deregulation and energy policy, unspecified future spending cuts, and tariff revenue, will lead to significant increases in investment, GDP and job creation.
The projections are wildly at odds with projections from most other economists, including from the CBO and top universities, whose analyses suggest the bill could lead to a substantial increase in the national debt.
‘Waste, fraud and abuse’
Republicans, including Ernst, have said the Medicaid and food aid changes and work requirements are necessary to eliminate "waste, fraud and abuse" and improve the programs’ effectiveness, weeding out individuals taking advantage of the system and protecting the program for those who truly depend on it.
Democrats counter many Medicaid recipients already work, and that people who are working as well as people who have caretaking responsibilities, disabilities or illnesses that keep them from paid work will lose coverage from red tape.
Michele Steepleton, a retired elementary school music teacher from Cedar Rapids, said her sister’s life was “saved by Medicaid.”
Her sister, Susan, is 60 years old and was living and working in Phoenix, Ariz. Susan suffers from chronic illnesses, including rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. After the death of her husband in May 2019, her sister faced financial struggles and lost her job and health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She was left with a lot of bills, little money and no support system, Steepleton said.
“She couldn't afford her expensive medication, so she did without,” Steepleton said. “By the time she got a new job and her insurance kicked in, her health had deteriorated to the point where she couldn't walk up and down her flight (of) stairs. This meant that she couldn't go to the mailbox to get her mail-order prescriptions or to go to a doctor. She was homebound.”
Last August, her family decided to help her move to Cedar Rapids. Despite initially having a job, she was laid off just before relocating. Without health insurance, Susan went to a free clinic where a social worker helped her apply for Medicaid, Steepleton said.
She was introduced to a new doctor who coordinated her care with specialists. Now on Medicaid, Susan can afford her medications. Steepleton said her sister went from using a walker to walking independently within eight months, and recently qualified for disability, enhancing her financial independence.
But she fears what might have happened had her sister had to wait or been denied disability coverage, or if the bill’s work requirements took effect.
“ … I believe these work requirements are just creating more bureaucracy, paperwork and hoops to jump through, so people will just give up and not bother to sign up for the services that they deserve,” Steepleton said.
‘Iowans deserve better’
Kristen Crowell, executive director of Fair Share America, said the bill's provisions could indirectly increase financial hardship and potentially lead to more individuals and families facing medical debt and bankruptcy, especially for those who lose their Medicaid coverage.
Dr. Emily Boevers, an obstetrician and gynecologist from Waverly, said the legislation would also have a significant impact on rural hospitals that serve a large number of Medicaid patients.
“I can tell you without a doubt that Medicaid saves lives,” Boevers said. “Medicaid is the backbone of rural health care access in Iowa, and many of the families that I care for in rural Iowa rely on me to afford prenatal visits, hospital births and NICU care for their babies. And without it, they simply wouldn't be able to access these services and keep their families healthy.”
Should the legislation pass, more Iowa mothers will struggle to access prenatal care or preventive services for their families, she said.
“Our rural and safety net hospitals cannot bear the costs of uncompensated care, just so billionaires can pay even less in taxes, and hardworking middle-class Iowans pay more,” Boevers said. “We need leaders who value life enough to invest in it … not leaders who turn their backs on suffering to score political points or please wealthy donors. Iowans deserve better.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters