No, we’re not kidding, the Grim Reaper really came to Congress to tell us what he thought of the Senate Republican budget bill.
When we asked him why he cared, he said, “The bill will be killer for business, pun intended.”
As it stands, over 300,000 Virginians could lose health care coverage, families will lose SNAP benefits, children will be kicked off or excluded from the Child Tax Credit, people will lose jobs, and clean energy, affordable housing, veterans services and rural health care will all be threatened.
Dr. Minal Patel of the University of Michigan detailed the consequences of the bill using diabetes as an example: “Nearly 1 in 4 people spent more than $300 a month just to manage their diabetes. That’s what many households pay for heat and electricity, or to keep a car running; these aren’t luxuries; they’re basic needs competing with life-sustaining care. Medicaid helps people afford insulin. SNAP helps them buy the right foods. Take those away, and people won’t just get sicker, they’ll end up in emergency rooms, or worse.”
“The thing is, I don’t want this bill to pass either, it’ll make my job too easy. Senate Republicans are just handing lives over to me, and that’s no fun,” said the Reaper. “Am I glad that I’ll be so busy, sure, but frankly, I never expected to have so much support for my line of work from anyone in Congress. Senator Joni Ernst said it best when signaling her support: “We’re all going to die.” I’m thankful to her and all the other Senate Republicans working with me to kill so many Americans.”
We are sincerely disturbed by the Reaper’s comments and by the actions of Congressional Republicans. This bill raises both the cost of living and, for so many middle class folks, the cost of staying alive. It’s our hope that the House will reject the Senate Republican budget and send these atrocious policies back into the darkness with the Reaper.
