CORREA (AGAIN) VOTES AGAINST FLAWED GOP BUDGET PLAN THAT HURTS ORANGE COUNTY FAMILIES

"We shouldn't have to pick winners and losers…[a]ll of our constituents are taxpayers, they deserve a fair handshake."

WASHINGTON - Today, Representative Lou Correa (CA-46) voted against the GOP budget reconciliation plan that would strip away health care hard-earned benefits from hard-working Orange County taxpayers, children, and seniors.

"Today, Congress voted on a GOP budget plan that includes around $600 billion in cuts to Medicaid and food assistance for kids, seniors, and veterans. It also slashes Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act," Correa lambasted. "If this plan becomes law, the nearly 350,000 people on Medicaid in my district could lose their health care-as well as the nearly 150,000 children and over 30,000 seniors. It would also cut Social Security benefits for over 600,000 people in my district. This is unacceptable, unconscionable, and un-American."

Nearly 80 million Americans receive health care through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provide critical care throughout all stages of life. Medicaid covers everything from childbirth to nursing home care and everything in between. Under the GOP plan, the 34,000 people who receive coverage under the Affordable Care Act in California's 46th Congressional District (CA-46) would see their average premium go up by $2,210 per year-a 110% increase. Many families would face even steeper consequences. A 60-year-old couple with a household income of $85,000 in CA-46 would see their health insurance costs increase by $13,831 per year-a nearly 200% increase in premiums.

"In my district alone, thousands of seniors rely on SNAP and food assistance programs to keep themselves and their families fed. If this plan becomes law, they will be put in jeopardy," Correa added. "I once again voted against this plan-because I cannot in good conscience put the hundreds of thousands of hard-working American taxpayers in Orange County who rely on these programs to survive at risk."

This legislation does include provisions that would expand the Child Tax Credit, expand standard deduction for seniors, expand deduction on loans for American-made vehicles, expand the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and more.

"This bill should be a win-win-not some win, some lose. We shouldn't pick winners and losers when crafting good public policy," he concluded. "All of our constituents are taxpayers, they deserve a fair handshake."

These additional provisions also have additional requirements and sunsets, including:

• Child tax credit: expanded from $2,000 to $2,500 per child until 2028; returns to $2,000 thereafter and grows with inflation; now applicants must have a SSN (both parents SSN if filing jointly), previously only the SSN of each qualifying child was required. This would impact children of mixed-status families.
• Enhanced Deductions for Seniors: Taxpayers ages 65 and older would be able to deduct an additional $4,000 from their taxable income for tax years 2025 through 2028. The credit would phase out at a 4% rate for individual filers whose income is more than $75,000 or joint filers whose income exceeds $150,000. Taxpayers and their spouses would have to provide their Social Security numbers to claim the deduction.
• No tax on car loan interest: The measure would create a deduction up to $10,000 for interest payments on auto loans for tax years 2025 through 2028. It would stipulate that the deduction could be claimed for vehicles whose final assembly is in the US.
  • The deduction would be reduced for modified adjusted gross income more than $100,000 for individual filers or more than $200,000 for joint filers.
• Low-income housing tax credit: Restores and extends a temporary 12.5% increase in credit allocations for 2026-2029; lowers the threshold of private activity bond (PAB) financing needed to access 4% credits from 50% to 25% for 2026-2029; and provides a 30% basis boost for rural and Native communities for developments placed in services in 2026-2029.

You can learn more about the impact of the GOP's budget plan on CA-46 residents HERE.

BACKGROUND: This legislation will impact millions of Californians and residents of California's 46th Congressional District across health care, nutrition, education, and more.

Cuts to Health Care: Medicaid cuts for California are estimated to be $9.8 billion, which will increase state taxes per resident by 4%. Additionally, 52% of residents in CA-46 benefit from health care coverage through Medi-Cal.Proposals to rollback or impose work requirements on Medicaid will put their health at risk. Specifically, the 56% of adult Medi-Cal enrollees across the district who will be at risk of losing coverage. Medicaid cuts for California are estimated to be $9.8 billion, which will increase state taxes per resident by 4%.

The legislation will also increase ACA premiums by $1,436-a 247% increase for a 60-y/o couple making $82,000, or $95 or 165% for 40 y/o making $31,000, across CA-46.

Across California's 46th congressional district, there are 103,000 children who benefit from either Medicaid or SNAP across CA-46-that's 65% of all children. There are also 27,000 children who benefit from both Medicaid and SNAP-that's 17% of all children.

Cuts to Food Access: In California's 46th congressional district, 123,200 Californians benefit from nutrition support through CalFresh, with 1,100 veterans participating in the program in the past year. Proposals to impose harsher requirements or reduce CalFresh funding would increase poverty and hunger for those most in need in the district-such as the 6,000 older adults in the district receiving CalFresh support.

Cuts to Education: Over 4 million students nationwide are estimated to have their Pell Grant reduced or eliminated if this legislation is signed into law. It increases the number of credits per semester required for students to receive full Pell Grant award from 12-15-which would result in a $1,479 cut to the maximum Pell Grant of $7,395 for any student taking 12 credits. It would also eliminate student loan subsidies-loans made to lower-income students that don't accrue interest until after graduation-and would increase the average payment for a student loan borrower by $200 dollars.

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