WCPT 820 Interview: Alex Lawson

Richard Chew is joined by Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works. He discussed the devastating impact of the Republican One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Senate narrowly passed the controversial legislation the day before, returning it to the House for a final vote. If signed into law, the bill would cut $1 trillion from Medicaid and lead to the closure of one in four nursing homes, exacerbating the existing nursing home crisis in the United States. Lawson highlighted the interconnectedness of health care systems, noting that rural hospital closures would strain metropolitan hospitals and reduce the quality of care. He urged listeners to contact their Republican representatives to oppose the bill, emphasizing its detrimental effects on the most vulnerable Americans.

Key quote: "It's depressing, in a way, to just be face to face with a political party, the Republicans, who are barreling this train down the tracks. And what it does is it steals health care from 17 million Americans. It steals food off the plates of those who are hungry. I mean, [it's] biblically bad. Fity-one thousand people [will] die a year because of this bill, because their health care is stolen by these millionaire politicians and their billionaire bosses, all so that trillions of dollars in tax handouts can go to billionaires. . . . The only thing that you have to wonder here is, are they a coward, or are they complicit? Are they a criminal complicit in this looting of people's health care? You can probably hear it in my voice. It starts in a sad place. It's depressing, but then I get filled with rage at the people who are literally hurting and will kill the least among us, the most vulnerable Americans, all to give tax handouts to people who are already richer than this world has ever seen before, like Elon Musk and his ilk. It's a disgusting display, but that's what the Republicans are doing. They own it now." 

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