Colorado’s Democratic lawmakers are calling on voters to pressure Republican House members to reject the GOP budget bill, which passed the Senate by a narrow margin on July 1.
The bill cleared the Senate with a 51-50 vote after four days of debate, with three Republicans opposing it and Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The House had previously approved its version in May by a 215-214 vote.
At a press conference on July 2, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper called the proposal “fiscal madness” and said it would take health care away from 17 million Americans, including children and seniors. He warned it could force six or seven high-risk hospitals in Colorado to close, eliminate 8,000 solar jobs in the state, and raise electricity costs.
“This bill gives a $3 trillion tax cut to the wealthiest Americans and explodes the national debt,” Hickenlooper said. “It takes from the poor and gives to the rich. But public pressure can still make a difference.”
Rep. Brittany Pettersen of District 7 fought back tears as she described the bill’s impact on low-income families, pregnant women, and working-class Coloradans like her mother.
“It would gut access to critical care and leave people with nowhere to go but the ER,” she said, urging Coloradans to contact their representatives. She noted that if just two of the state’s four House Republicans vote no, the bill could be stopped.
Gov. Jared Polis also called on Colorado’s Republican representatives—Jeff Hurd (District 3), Lauren Boebert (District 4), Jeff Crank (District 5), and Gabe Evans (District 8)—to oppose the bill.
“It’s not too late,” Polis said. “Start fresh and pass a bill that doesn’t kick people off health care.”
Rep. Joe Neguse warned that the proposal would hit rural Colorado especially hard, citing “draconian cuts to food service” that could leave families hungry.
Rep. Diana DeGette, who has served in Congress for 27 years, said the bill is “the worst” she has ever seen. She said the House version would have cut health coverage for 13 million people, but the Senate version increases that to 17 million, according to the non-partisan budget office.
“This bill defunds Planned Parenthood and would strip health care from 377,000 Coloradans,” DeGette said. “It also allocates $75 billion to ICE to continue its mass deportation agenda.”
“We need to lift our voices,” Hickenlooper added. “Public pressure works—and we can still change this.”
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