Harrisburg, PA, July 1, 2025 – Following the US Senate’s passage of President Trump’s massive budget and policy bill, Sen. Nick Pisciottano (D-Allegheny) released the following statement:
“I am outraged by the legislation passed today by the US Senate. As your State Senator, I am deeply concerned by the effects this bill will have on our neighbors and our community. I worry about the grandparents, working families, and people with disabilities who will struggle even more than they already are to put food on the table. I worry about the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who will lose their health insurance. The bill benefits almost no one, guts the social safety net that millions of the most vulnerable Americans rely on to make ends meet, and balloons the national debt—all in exchange for tax cuts for Donald Trump and his 1% cronies.
This bill calls for catastrophic cuts to Medicaid (known as Medical Assistance in Pennsylvania) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), forcing billions of dollars of costs onto states, including Pennsylvania. It introduces miles of new red tape into these programs, which will add additional bureaucracy and cause massive administrative hurdles and long delays, even for those who still qualify. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania does not have the financial power to protect its residents from these draconian cuts and cannot prevent single mothers, grandparents, people with disabilities, and many others from losing vital supports to healthcare and food that they desperately need.
3 million people in Pennsylvania receive Medical Assistance; nearly half are children, and over 700,000 are older adults and people with disabilities. More than 300,000 Pennsylvanians stand to lose Medical Assistance coverage, including over 25,000 in Allegheny County alone. Hospitals, particularly rural hospitals, that depend on reimbursement through Medical Assistance would face unsustainable levels of uncompensated care, threatening access to emergency and critical services for all rural Pennsylvanians, no matter what health insurance they have.
Nearly 2 million people in Pennsylvania benefit from SNAP; again, more than half of those are older adults and children. Between additional administrative burdens and cuts to the program, the federal government is shifting more than $1 billion of costs onto Pennsylvania—a price that we cannot bear. The benefits of SNAP go far beyond feeding our children and grandparents. These cuts threaten the entire food system in Pennsylvania, from the grocery stores, particularly small businesses and grocers that serve low-income communities, to processors and farmers.
As Chair of the Senate Finance Committee and a CPA, I cannot overlook the massive fiscal impact of this legislation either. Washington Republicans are touting the cost-savings of these measures, but the legislation would add at least $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. The increased administrative demands will grow state bureaucracy. It threatens the future of infrastructure and manufacturing projects. It does nothing to address the affordability crisis squeezing working families and only exacerbates economic inequality to the benefit of billionaires.
My job is to fight for you in Harrisburg, but when a piece of legislation threatens to destroy the social and economic fabric of our county, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the communities I represent, I cannot stay silent.”