This week, the House of Representatives passed our version of the budget reconciliation bill. From the very beginning, I was clear with House Leadership that I wouldn’t support a final bill that included any reduction in Medicaid coverage for our most vulnerable populations—children, seniors, people with disabilities, and pregnant women. After months of productive meetings with constituents, Central Valley healthcare providers, and my congressional colleagues, I was able to successfully preserve the integrity of the program and block the proposals that would have disproportionately impacted California.
To ensure Medicaid has ample resources for our vulnerable populations, this bill introduces commonsense work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents. This means that people of working age, between 19 and 64, would need to complete a minimum of 80 hours per month of either work, community service, educational programs, or job training. This doesn’t include pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, parents, the elderly, or otherwise vulnerable populations. It even allows California to make exceptions to work requirements for people experiencing short term hardships. These measures will ensure vulnerable people with Medicaid coverage have continued access to healthcare while providing incentives for able-bodied adults to eventually have an off-ramp from the program. This bill honors my commitment to protect Medicaid for our most vulnerable while implementing commonsense reforms that will strengthen the program for the long-term.
It also includes many wins that will directly impact the wallets of people throughout the Valley and blocks the largest tax increase in American history while delivering tax relief for working families and seniors. In CA-22, an average family of four would see a tax increase equivalent to roughly 6 weeks’ worth of groceries if we had not passed this bill. More than 90% of our neighbors rely on the standard deduction when filing taxes, and this bill keeps the provisions in place that doubled it. For individual filers, the current deduction is over $14,000, and for married couples, it’s almost $22,000. If we didn’t reauthorize these provisions, Central Valley taxpayers would see these deductions cut in half. This bill also expands the Child Tax Credit, eliminates taxes on tips and overtime, and enhances deductions for seniors.
These are real, tangible wins that will put more money back in the pockets of hardworking Valley families. To be clear, this bill has not been signed into law yet. The next step is for the House's version of the budget to go to the Senate for consideration. As this process continues, I remain committed to working with my Senate colleagues to ensure critical programs like Medicaid and SNAP are protected for those who need them most while making sure we deliver the tax relief CA-22 deserves.
