LEILA FADEL, HOST:
As we just heard, this mega tax cut and spending bill is expected to add trillions of dollars to the national debt, while its effect on economic growth is murky at best. Yesterday, I spoke with Republican Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a co-founder of the congressional Freedom Caucus, about his support for the bill. Today, Democrat Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania joins me to talk about his opposition. He's calling in from the Capitol this morning. Good morning.
CHRIS DELUZIO: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: Thank you for being on the program. I know you're expecting a vote maybe in the next half hour, so I do appreciate you coming on. Let's start with if it passes, which it looks like it will, how are Democrats going to respond?
DELUZIO: I think we've been making the case against this bill pretty clearly, and I can sum it up, I think, pretty easily. It's not that complicated. This is a bill that is going to rip away health care, food assistance and more to pay for pretty reckless tax giveaways for some of the richest and most powerful companies and people who have ever existed. It's crazy to see Republicans do this. I heard the building trades. You know, we're talking the boilermakers, the ironworkers, those kinds of workers. They've estimated this will cost them more than a million, almost 2 million construction jobs. Calling it the biggest job killer in the country's history. It's nuts to me that Republicans are doing this, and I think we're going to see them within the hour probably pass this bill and send to the president.
FADEL: But if it does pass and goes to the president's desk, what will the Democrats do then to represent their constituents?
DELUZIO: Well, I will tell you every member of the house is up for election next year. I've got four vulnerable Republican colleagues in my state of Pennsylvania who are going to be hearing a lot from guys like me who are going to be reminding their voters of what these people just voted to do, which is to put at risk hospitals in their districts. Western Pennsylvania, by most reports, we're looking at maybe five hospitals close. We are going to see rising energy costs by the estimates, and we're going to see the deficit balloon in the order of the trillions. I just heard you guys talking about it before I came on. Those are all problems that people are going to see and feel in places like Pennsylvania and Western Pennsylvania. I'm going to be doing a lot to remind those members' constituents of what they just voted to do.
FADEL: Western Pennsylvania - a blue-collar part of the state outside Pittsburgh. It's an area where President Trump did well in last year's election. What are you hearing from your constituents there about this bill?
DELUZIO: They're very worried about their health care. I've had lots of reports come in and calls and people sharing their stories. I'll share one. A 98-year-old woman whose husband served in World War II and has now died, who is in a nursing home and is going to run out of money, probably in the next month or so. Without Medicaid, there is no way that she will continue to get care. I could share countless stories of something exactly like that - without Medicaid, excuse me. And these are people who have given a lot to this country, who, you know, whether it's grandma or grandpa, whether it's a kid with disabilities, they need this health care. And to see that health care taken away just to funnel trillions to the richest and most powerful, it's fiscally reckless. It's cruel and it's going to put at risk the kinds of hospitals and doctors' practices we need in the more rural parts of this country and in urban parts. And this is going to affect communities all over America. And again, I just think it's fiscally reckless to have us all get saddled with trillions of debt to pay for this.
FADEL: You know, we had Representative Jordan on yesterday, as I mentioned, and he really paints a very different picture of this bill. He - you know, he said, it helps families because it includes a school choice component and helps taxpayers because it includes a work requirement for Medicaid. I want you to just listen to what he said.
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JIM JORDAN: If you're an able-bodied adult and you're getting help from the taxpayers in one of our social welfare programs, then you're going to have to work. And that is just good common sense. That is fair to taxpayers. That's good for our economy.
FADEL: So why don't you see it as good common sense?
DELUZIO: Well, if you listen to anyone who works in the health care industry, they are telling you that if these cuts to Medicaid happen, they are likely closing hospitals all over this country. Hospitals that serve people who have private insurance, who have Medicare or Medicaid, who might be veterans who are being seen out in the community for emergencies. All of those people are at risk of losing health care because of this bill. So again, I think this is really reckless. And you don't have to believe me. You can listen to everyone who has studied this in the health care industry of what we're likely to see with hospitals closing across the country and in places like Western Pennsylvania.
FADEL: That's Pennsylvania Congressman Chris Deluzio. Thank you so much for joining the program.
DELUZIO: Thanks, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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