Letter to the Editor
Cuts to health care and SNAP are only part of the issue. Rep. Vindman needs to stand firm and protect pro-environment policies.
Health Care, SNAP Not Only Government Programs Trump’s Bill Guts
Much of the public attention on the “Big Ugly Bill” has rightly focused on the millions of Americans who would be unceremoniously stripped of their health care coverage. Without question, that would be an outrageous and dangerous assault on vulnerable families across this country. But the threats contained in this bill go far beyond stripping Virginians of their healthcare, and they deserve just as much alarm.
In order to hand Trump’s billionaire donors their precious tax breaks, this bill doesn’t just dismantle access to health care and food assistance programs. It also delivers a devastating blow to clean energy and environmental protections in our Commonwealth. It doubles down on fossil fuel production while gutting investments in clean energy technologies that are already creating good-paying jobs, lowering utility bills, and improving public health.
The North America’s Building Trades Unions have called this the “biggest job-killing bill in the history of this country,” but this bill goes beyond undermining economic progress – it deepens the injustice at the heart of our energy and environmental systems. Low-income neighborhoods and Black and Brown communities across Virginia have long been treated as sacrifice zones by the fossil fuel industry – places where toxic facilities are built, pollution is tolerated, and illness is ignored. The “Big Ugly Bill” would sentence yet another generation of Virginians to being disproportionately sickened by dirty air, contaminated water, and unsafe living conditions, all to protect the profits of the wealthiest few.
Virginia has made significant progress toward building a cleaner, healthier, and more just economy. From expanded solar infrastructure to job creation in advanced energy manufacturing, the momentum is real. These aren’t abstract ideas, they’re measurable benefits that this bill puts at risk.
A vote for the “Big Ugly Bill” would be a betrayal of that progress. It would be a declaration that billion-dollar corporations and wealthy political donors matter more than the health and well-being of everyday Virginians. It would reverse years of work by environmental justice leaders, clean energy advocates, and concerned citizens trying to build a better future for their communities.
The Senate has passed this bill by the narrowest of margins, and now it's headed back to the House of Representatives. When it does, we need Rep. Vindman to hold strong and follow through on his original “no” vote on this bill.
Voting no means protecting the health and well-being of Virginians, supporting clean energy progress, and fostering a stronger economy. I hope he will stand with his constituents and reject this harmful legislation.
Jordan Seurattan
Fredericksburg
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