President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" passed the U.S. House by just one vote and is now being mulled over by the U.S. Senate, where Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester is urging her Republican colleagues to reconsider some of the proposed federal funding cuts.
The cuts listed throughout the bill are an effort to find $1.7 trillion in savings to help pay for the president’s plan to extend his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which is set to expire at the end of this year.
The bill includes other tax provisions like no taxes on tips for workers in the service industry and no taxes on overtime through 2028.
It would also increase the amount states contribute to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and implement a work requirement for enrollees, scale back several tax credits for clean energy, raise the nation's debt limit by $4 trillion, increase defense and border security funding and make drastic changes to the Medicaid program — one of the bill's most contentious provisions.
The legislation would create new work requirements for childless adults without disabilities enrolled in Medicaid. To qualify, enrollees would be required to work at least 80 hours per month beginning December 2026.
Other changes include requiring re-enrollment every six months instead of once per year, and enrollees would have to provide additional income and residency verifications.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would result in $698 billion less in federal subsidies from changes to the Medicaid program and about 13.7 million people would lose health insurance by 2034.
Roughly one in four Delawareans rely on Medicaid for healthcare coverage, and Sen. Blunt Rochester says these proposed changes could be devastating for program participants in the First State.
The senator has a launched a "Share Your Story" portal, which has received over 200 responses from Delawareans concerned about how proposal from the Trump administration could set them and their families back.
"I'm hoping that the voices of the people, the stories of the people, will be those things that will persuade my Republican colleagues that this is the wrong direction to go, particularly at a time when people are struggling and they don't need it to be harder to get healthcare or to be able to afford everyday life, they need us to do what is in their best interest," Sen. Blunt Rochester said. "So do I have hope? I always maintain hope, but I believe it's the same thing with faith. Faith without works is dead. So we got to work to make sure that these horrible cuts don't go into effect."
Sen. Blunt Rochester relayed some of these stories on the Senate floor in an effort to sway Republican colleagues to reject Medicaid program changes and cuts.
Republicans are pushing to pass the bill by July 4, but the caucus can’t afford to lose more than three votes on the bill assuming no Democrats support it.
Sen. Blunt Rochester is particularly passionate about disproving the narrative that the majority of Medicaid enrollees don't work.
"In Delaware, about 63% of adults that are on Medicaid are already working. Many of them are working two and three jobs. As a matter of fact, one of the stories I highlighted during my floor speech was Emanuel, who actually can work because of Medicaid. He has cerebral palsy, he is wheelchair user, but he doesn't let that stop him, and he has said that the ability for him to have the supports of Medicaid allow him to go to work to support his family," Sen. Blunt Rochester said. "So the first thing I would say is that we need to bust the myth that people on Medicaid are not working. They are working. We need to also think about when work requirements are added, whether it is for SNAP benefits or whether it is for Medicaid, a lot of times it is really to put these kind of onerous rules on it is so that, basically, people fall off the system. And that's how they save money, because people fall off the system."
The senator believes these government assistance programs should not be sacrificed to cover the cost of the president's proposed tax cuts.
“I think this idea of saying there should be work requirements is just another way that our Republican colleagues want to cut people off of Medicaid and save money so that the money can be used for these tax breaks for really wealthy people.”
Delaware is close to a month out from finalizing its fiscal year 2026 state budget, and Gov. Matt Meyer is proposing the creation of a federal contingency fund of $21.9 million to offset potential federal funding reductions.
Sen. Blunt Rochester says she is working with Delaware state officials on contingency plans in case the 'big, beautiful bill' passes, but she plans to continue pressing her GOP colleagues.
“We're working with the [Meyer] administration to look at scenarios and to see how we can best mitigate the impact, but my main focus is to stop these cuts from going into effect in the first place, so that we don't have to go into contingencies," she said.
The bill is expected to see some significant changes to appease hesitant Republicans before heading to a final vote.
