NEW COLUMN: MDP Slams Senator Steve Daines for Supporting Disastrous “Big, Beautiful Bill”
Ailport: “Daines likes to talk out of both sides of his mouth, claiming it’s important to rein in the federal deficit, promising vulnerable Montanans they won’t lose health coverage, and that cuts to safety net programs will save the taxpayers money. These are bold-faced lies.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 9, 2025
CONTACT
gaby@montanademocrats.org
In a new column, Interim Executive Director of the Montana Democratic Party Justin Ailport, slams Senator Steve Daines for supporting the Trump-inspired “Big Beautiful Bill” that would raise the federal deficit, strip tens of thousands of Montanans of their health insurance, and upend rural clinics and hospitals in Montana all so millionaires and billionaires can get a tax break.
Ailport highlights the lies Republicans like Senator Daines are spreading about the “Big Beautiful Bill”, and points out how slashing Medicaid funding and adding work requirements will hurt rural communities in Montana.
“In rural Montana, Medicaid accounts for a substantial share of rural hospital revenues. These proposed cuts would push community hospitals and clinics into crisis, especially in rural areas where Medicaid patients make up a large portion of their patient base.
Folks in rural Montana will have reduced access to care, even for those who stay eligible, thanks to fewer providers, longer wait times, and reduced coverage for services. That means rural Montanans will have to drive farther to go to their check-ups, have a baby, or visit elderly family in rest homes.”
Lee Newspapers: The Big Beautiful Bill Act? Try the big steaming pile of manure
06/07/2025
By Justin Ailport, Interim Executive Director, Montana Democratic Party
Lee Newspapers: The Big Beautiful Bill Act? Try the big steaming pile of manure
06/07/2025
By Justin Ailport, Interim Executive Director, Montana Democratic Party
The same Republicans who have been whining about red tape and reducing the federal deficit for as long as we can remember are now adding more of both in the Trump-inspired “Big Beautiful Bill”.
This week, we learned the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office announced Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” could spike the deficit by $2.4 trillion while simultaneously leaving 10.9 million Americans uninsured within the next decade.
Mind you, our all-Republican Congressional delegation has been some of the biggest cheerleaders of the legislation. Especially Senator Steve Daines, who had back-to-back interviews on national news this week, professing his undying love for the bill while spouting lie after lie.
One lie Senator Daines keeps peddling? People who rely on Medicaid and are eligible for benefits will not lose their health coverage if these cuts are passed into law. Daines keeps insisting people who “deserve” their benefits will be protected, but there are some serious holes in that logic.
First, Medicaid work requirements will wrongly kick people off their insurance. We’ve already seen this happen in other states.
Additionally, red tape and increased paperwork disproportionately hurt people with limited internet access, like those in rural Montana, and will only increase the uninsured rate in the state. It should be noted that approximately 73 percent of Montanans on Medicaid are working. Those who don’t are single parents looking after their children or are caretakers looking after disabled family members.
These are the folks who will suffer the most if the bill passes.
Here’s what else Donald Trump and Senator Daines aren’t telling you: The cuts to Medicaid will have devastating consequences on Montana’s rural healthcare system and harm folks who aren’t even on Medicaid.
In rural Montana, Medicaid accounts for a substantial share of rural hospital revenues. These proposed cuts would push community hospitals and clinics into crisis, especially in rural areas where Medicaid patients make up a large portion of their patient base.
Folks in rural Montana will have reduced access to care, even for those who stay eligible, thanks to fewer providers, longer wait times, and reduced coverage for services. That means rural Montanans will have to drive farther to go to their check-ups, have a baby, or visit elderly family in rest homes.
One of the biggest lies Daines is pushing? The bill will save taxpayers money. This is simply not true, unless you are one of Trump’s billionaire buddies.
Daines likes to talk out of both sides of his mouth, claiming it’s important to rein in the federal deficit, promising vulnerable Montanans they won’t lose health coverage, and that cuts to safety net programs will save the taxpayers money.
These are bold-faced lies, and we’ve come to expect this from Senator Daines and Donald Trump.
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