{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcbride.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-sarah-mcbride-testifies-house-rules-committee-protect-seniors-harmful-cuts", "Rep. Sarah McBride Testifies Before House Rules Committee to Protect Seniors from Harmful Cuts in GOP Budget Bill", "2025-07-01", "2025", "2025-07", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Sarah McBride", "M001238", "mcbride.house.gov", "mcbride", "https://mcbride.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 This evening, Congresswoman Sarah McBride (DE-At Large) testified before the House Rules Committee in support of her amendment to H.R. 1, the Republican budget reconciliation bill. The amendment addresses Section 71101 of the \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d, which imposes a moratorium on a 2023 rule designed to help low-income seniors more easily enroll in Medicare Savings Programs.\n\nRep. McBride\u2019s amendment introduces a simple safeguard: the provision delaying the rule may only take effect if the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) certifies that it will not result in:\n\nReduced access to medically necessary care, or\n\nIncreased out-of-pocket costs for seniors who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.\n\n\u201cToday I offer an amendment that is as simple as it is essential,\u201d said Rep. McBride. \u201cIf this budget is going to delay the implementation of a rule designed to help low-income seniors afford their health care, then Congress should at least ensure that it won\u2019t make things worse.\u201d\n\n\u201cRight now, 16% of all Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a Medicare Savings Program,\u201d said Rep. McBride. \u201cThat\u2019s over 10 million Americans. Nearly 20% of all Medicare beneficiaries are dually eligible for Medicaid. In Delaware alone, that\u2019s more than 35,000 of my neighbors \u2014 mostly older, mostly low-income and all just trying to live out their retirement with some shred of dignity.\u201d\n\nA Hidden Cut to Medicare\n\nThough Republican leaders claim H.R. 1 \u201cdoes not touch Medicare,\u201d McBride challenged that assertion: \u201cThis provision is a Medicare cut. It\u2019s a backdoor attack on benefits seniors have earned and need.\u201d\n\nIf enacted, the moratorium in Section 71101 would reverse progress made under the 2023 rule\u2014reinstating cumbersome paperwork, delaying coverage, and potentially causing low-income seniors to lose access to care altogether.\n\n\u201cIt punishes people not for breaking a rule, but for failing to navigate a maze of them,\u201d said Rep. McBride. It\u2019s the worst kind of austerity: bureaucratic cruelty dressed up as budget reform.\u201d\n\nMcBride\u2019s Amendment: A Safeguard for Seniors\n\nRep. McBride\u2019s amendment does not repeal the moratorium outright. Instead, it applies a condition: the provision cannot take effect unless CBO certifies that it will not harm seniors\u2019 access to medically necessary care or increase their out-of-pocket costs.\n\n\u201cIf this delay truly won\u2019t harm access or raise costs,\u201d McBride said, \u201cthere should be no reason to oppose my amendment. But let\u2019s be honest \u2014 we all know why the Majority doesn\u2019t want that check: because it will confirm what they would rather keep quiet.\u201d\n\nProtecting the Promise of Medicare\n\nRep. McBride closed her testimony with a reminder of the original intent behind Medicare. She quoted President Lyndon B. Johnson, who signed the program into law in 1965:\n\n\u201cNo longer will this Nation refuse the hand of justice to those who have given a lifetime of service and wisdom and labor to the progress of this country.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat was the promise,\u201d McBride continued. \u201cA promise of dignity in retirement. Of security in aging. Of care that doesn\u2019t depend on your income or how well you can navigate red tape. This bill breaks that promise.\n\n\u201cMy amendment is a small check \u2014 a safeguard to protect seniors from needless harm. I urge this Committee to adopt it.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T14:40:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mcbride.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-sarah-mcbride-testifies-house-rules-committee-protect-seniors-harmful-cuts"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7560788653790951, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}