Imagine handing Meta a $15 billion tax break while 16 million Americans lose their healthcare. Does that sound like a good deal? Well, that’s exactly what we’re looking at under Trump’s so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
Let’s call it what it is: A Scam.
HR 1, passed by only Republicans in the U.S. House, is a catastrophic piece of legislation that would gut healthcare, balloon the deficit, and transfer even more of our money to the top 1%.
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) brushed off the consequences, saying of those who stand to lose life-saving medicine, their local hospitals, or access to senior care: “They’ll get over it.” That chilling indifference tells you everything you need to know about the priorities behind this bill.
What’s actually in the Bill?
HR 1 would shift billions in Medicaid costs onto states, including Maryland, forcing us to make impossible decisions - either raise taxes or kick vulnerable people off coverage.
Americans who rely on ACA marketplace plans could see their premiums spike. Maryland families would be hit hard, paying thousands more each year for the same care.
The bill slashes nutrition assistance programs including SNAP, and increases state funding requirements, which would put an added strain on our already-tight state budget and threaten food security for thousands of Marylanders.
The bill targets student loan programs, phasing out subsidized loans and limiting access to graduate and parent PLUS loans. This could hit working-class students hardest and worsen our growing shortage of doctors, nurses, and teachers who rely on student loans.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), HR 1 would add trillions to the federal deficit over the next decade, thanks mostly to giant tax cuts for corporations and the ultra-wealthy: tax cuts that are about enriching the few at the expense of the rest of us. It’s Robin Hood in reverse.
This isn’t reform - it's a redistribution of money from the bottom and middle - to the top 1%.
HR 1 is a betrayal of working people, students, seniors, and anyone who ever needed a hand - to the benefit of the rich. If passed, it would leave Maryland and the nation sicker, poorer, and more unequal.
We can’t afford to “get over it.” We have to fight.
***Call or write your federal representatives and tell them - vote NO on HB 1.
TAKE ACTION with AFT. Read more about this full-scale attack on the working class, on union members, our jobs, our families, and our future.
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Article by AFT Maryland Staff
2025-06-30