In response to Senate Republicans passing their version of the budget reconciliation bill, Julie Margetta Morgan, president of The Century Foundation think tank and former associate director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), issued the following:
“The Senate-passed reconciliation megabill is one the most economically devastating pieces of legislation in modern history, and if it becomes law, families across the country will be reeling from its impacts for years to come. Instead of tackling the high costs Americans are facing every day, Republicans are rushing a bill through Congress under the cover of night that steals from programs that help most families in order to line the pockets of billionaires and big corporations.
“Make no mistake: for the vast majority of Americans, this bill would raise prices on everything from utilities to groceries, while stripping vital health care from 17 million people and forcing countless rural hospitals and nursing homes to shutter. Out-of-pocket premiums would more than double for millions enrolled in ACA marketplaces. Deep cuts to food assistance would hurt up to 15 million kids, or 1 in 5 nationwide—a move that would be akin to every food bank in the country closing. And college would become more expensive for students as borrowing costs spike.
“The pain doesn’t stop there. At a time when families are increasingly turning to credit card debt, ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ schemes, and other costly financial products to manage the squeeze of rising costs, this bill would open the floodgates to predatory lending and destroy the only federal agency responsible for protecting consumers, giving carte blanche to companies looking to seize on Americans’ pocketbook struggles.
“That’s the dire reality of the Senate bill: it will overwhelm actual food banks to pad the profits of Fortune 500 banks; it will decimate an already weak social safety net, forcing Americans to construct their own safety net out of risky financial instruments; and it will raise prices across the board while robbing families of their ability to pay for essentials.”
Senate Republicans: “Food Banks Squeezed, Big Banks Unleashed”
In response to Senate Republicans passing their version of the budget reconciliation bill, Julie Margetta Morgan, president of The Century Foundation think tank and former associate director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), issued the following:
“The Senate-passed reconciliation megabill is one the most economically devastating pieces of legislation in modern history, and if it becomes law, families across the country will be reeling from its impacts for years to come. Instead of tackling the high costs Americans are facing every day, Republicans are rushing a bill through Congress under the cover of night that steals from programs that help most families in order to line the pockets of billionaires and big corporations.
“Make no mistake: for the vast majority of Americans, this bill would raise prices on everything from utilities to groceries, while stripping vital health care from 17 million people and forcing countless rural hospitals and nursing homes to shutter. Out-of-pocket premiums would more than double for millions enrolled in ACA marketplaces. Deep cuts to food assistance would hurt up to 15 million kids, or 1 in 5 nationwide—a move that would be akin to every food bank in the country closing. And college would become more expensive for students as borrowing costs spike.
“The pain doesn’t stop there. At a time when families are increasingly turning to credit card debt, ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ schemes, and other costly financial products to manage the squeeze of rising costs, this bill would open the floodgates to predatory lending and destroy the only federal agency responsible for protecting consumers, giving carte blanche to companies looking to seize on Americans’ pocketbook struggles.
“That’s the dire reality of the Senate bill: it will overwhelm actual food banks to pad the profits of Fortune 500 banks; it will decimate an already weak social safety net, forcing Americans to construct their own safety net out of risky financial instruments; and it will raise prices across the board while robbing families of their ability to pay for essentials.”