Washington, DC – Following House passage of the third budget deal, which came after Elon Musk and Donald Trump defeated an earlier, bipartisan version of the bill that was set to pass, Angel Padilla,vice president of the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, released this statement:
“Once again, we were brought to the brink of a government shutdown because House Republicans are incapable of governing responsibly. This debacle was entirely avoidable, caused primarily by the whims of de facto President Elon Musk who is singularly focused on securing the largest tax breaks for himself and his billionaire friends – at the cost of everyone else.
“While we’re glad that we have avoided an unnecessary government shutdown, and that the final bill includes critical child care funding that we helped secure, we are disturbed to learn that House Republicans have committed to slash programs that families rely on. These deep cuts, targeted at programs such as Medicaid and nutrition assistance, will increase food and medical costs for families, all while Republicans work to pass massive new tax cuts for billionaires like Elon Musk. “These are not the actions of a party that will work on behalf of women and families. The Republican Party is now transparently being controlled by unelected billionaires, who will stop at nothing to get additional tax breaks while women and children suffer. Over the next four years, we are going to see more chaotic attacks like this, and as an organization dedicated to protecting women and girls, we pledge to fight these assaults and do what we can to resist this extreme, anti-family Republican agenda.”