RENO, NV – This week, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) penned an op-ed in the Reno Gazette Journal highlighting the devastating impacts that Donald Trump’s extreme tax and spending bill, known as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” will have on Nevada. With the help of Republicans in Congress, Trump pushed through a law that will gut access to health care, cut funding for hospitals and food assistance programs, and eliminate thousands of good-paying, clean energy jobs in the state.
Reno Gazette Journal: Trump’s budget is a dangerous betrayal of hardworking Nevadans
By Senator Jacky Rosen
Key points:
- Earlier this month, Congressional Republicans forced Donald Trump’s extreme tax and spending law through Congress, turning their backs on hardworking families in Nevada. Their “Big Beautiful Bill” was drafted to give billionaires more tax breaks, paid for by gutting essential programs Nevadans rely on — like Medicaid and SNAP — and eliminating thousands of good-paying, clean energy jobs in our state.
- In communities across Reno and Northern Nevada, these cuts will be especially devastating for both Medicaid recipients and our local hospitals. Under Republicans’ extreme plan, nearly 12 million Americans who rely on Medicaid will lose their health care coverage — including more than 100,000 Nevadans.
- Earlier this year, I sat down with Nevada families who rely on this critical program. One mother told me how her son’s specialized treatments for a chronic illness are covered through Medicaid, and if she didn’t have that coverage, she doesn’t know how her family would manage. Far too many families are one medical emergency away from bankruptcy, and having no insurance almost guarantees that grim outcome.
- But it’s not just families that rely on Medicaid that will be affected by these cuts — our hospitals will face cuts as well. Hospitals across Nevada rely on federal funding through Medicaid to stay open and serve the communities around them, whether patients have insurance or not.
- As a result of Trump and Congressional Republicans’ cruel law, Nevada stands to lose about $590 million in Medicaid funding for hospitals. According to a recent report, Renown Hospital here in Reno could lose more than $32 million in critical funding. Without this money, some hospitals will be forced to downsize their operations or even close.
- This Republican bill threatens the backbone of our rural health infrastructure — affecting our dedicated nurses, doctors, and hospital staff. When funding is cut, they’ll be forced to do more with less, work longer hours, and make impossible choices — even leave our state.
- Gutting health coverage for Nevadans isn’t the only impact of this extreme law. It will also cut good-paying, clean energy jobs in our state. According to reports, this law is expected to eliminate nearly 6,200 positions by terminating key clean energy tax credits. These tax credits create jobs by supporting clean energy development and manufacturing. As one of the few states in the nation with an abundance of clean energy sources like solar, Nevada has greatly benefited from these incentives.
- This heartless Republican law puts billionaires ahead of working people — slashing vital programs to fund massive tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy. These are not the values that Nevadans believe in, and they are not the policies our communities need. This is not what our families want or need.
- Nevadans deserve better. We should be strengthening our hospitals, not pushing them to the brink of closure. We should be expanding access to health care, not pulling the rug out from under families. And we should be investing in our workforce and industries, not handing out giveaways to those who already have the most.
- As your senator, I will keep fighting to reverse the devastating impact of this reckless Republican budget law. I will push for policies that put people first, not politics.
###
