Rep. Sewell Votes NO on Senate Republicans' Budget Framework

April 10, 2025 - WASHINGTON D.C. – The House of Representatives passed the Senate Republicans' budget framework by a vote of 216 to 214. Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL07) voted against the bill.

"The Republican budget takes food away from hungry families and makes massive cuts to health care in order to give trillions in tax breaks to the very wealthy," said Congresswoman Sewell in a statement. "Under their proposal, billionaires like Elon Musk get rewarded while hard working Alabama families get left behind. I voted NO."

House Republicans adopted the Senate's framework that will be used to enact key parts of President Trump's legislative agenda. Some conservatives had initially opposed the bill over concerns that it does not go far enough to cut the size of government fast enough.

The 216 to 214 vote is a big win for Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana).

"Today's final adoption of the budget resolution reflects both chambers' collective commitment to enacting President Trump's full agenda as quickly as possible to fulfill our promises to the American people," Speaker Johnson said in a statement. "By clearing this critical hurdle, House committees can now work in tandem with Senate committees to swiftly prepare their respective parts of the reconciliation bill, keeping us on track for markups during the next work period.."

This is a first step and is not the completion of the budget process.

"This process will require close consultation with the White House to ensure that the final bill reflects our shared priorities, resulting in a product that can pass both chambers and be signed into law by President Trump," said Speaker Johnson. "It is essential that every member of our conference remains engaged and stays laser-focused on delivering one big, beautiful bill to the President's desk. We will not waver in our commitment to delivering a bill that reduces spending, secures the border, keeps taxes low for families and job creators, restores American energy dominance, reestablishes peace through strength, and makes government work better for all Americans."

The Congress also has to raise the debt ceiling again very soon.

"With the debt limit deadline approaching, border security resources dwindling, markets in flux, and the looming threat of the largest tax increase on working families, we are racing against the clock," said Johnson. "The American people are counting on us, and failure is not an option."

Johnson has pushed a timeline to advance Trump's domestic policy priorities.

President Trump had to lobby hard to get the votes from the more rightwing Republicans on board with the proposal.

Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky.) and Victoria Spartz (R-Indiana) were the only Republican who voted against the measure.

Johnson promised at least $1.5 trillion in cuts.

Sewell shared several concerns with the press.

"Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, tens of millions of Americans can afford high-quality health care," said Rep. Sewell in a statement. "House Democrats built on the Affordable Care Act, delivering lower prices and expanding coverage. Under the Republican budget plan, the 55,000 people who receive coverage under the Affordable Care Act in AL-07 would see their average premium go up by $510 per year - a 66% increase."

"Many families would face even steeper consequences," said Sewell. "A 60-year-old couple with a household income of $20,604 in AL-07 would see their health insurance costs increase by $24,749 per year - a 285% increase in premiums."

"Nearly 80 million Americans receive health care through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provide critical care throughout all stages of life," said Sewell. "Medicaid covers everything from childbirth to nursing home care and everything in between. In AL-07, the 176,181 people on Medicaid are at risk of losing their health care under Republican budget plans. This includes 121,745 children under the age of 19 and 23,000 seniors over 65 in AL-07."

"With many American families struggling to put food on the table, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides critical support for over 40 million Americans including children, seniors, veterans, and working parents," said Sewell. "Extreme Republican budget plans threaten the 197,000 people in AL-07 who count on SNAP to put food on the table. School Lunches - Every year, more than 23 million children receive healthy school meals thanks to the Community Eligibility Provision. Across Alabama, the Republican budget threatens 100,290 children who rely on free school lunches. If Republicans are successful, their extreme budget will make it even harder for these children to get the meals they need to grow and learn."

"About one in three undergraduate students receive Pell grants, which have helped millions of students afford the cost of a college education," added Sewell. "These investments in future generations help grow our economy and our middle class. The Republican budget would jeopardize the futures of 24,913 students in AL-07 who use Pell grants to help afford their education."