Washington D.C. – On Tuesday night, during debate in the House Rules Committee, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) introduced three amendments to the Senate-passed version of President Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” to expand access to health care and protect funding for public schools. All three amendments were unanimously rejected by Rules Committee Republicans.

Watch it on YouTube here. 

Rep. Sewell’s first amendment would have provided a temporary health care option to the more than 100,000 Alabamians caught in the coverage gap by extending the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits to uninsured individuals in non-Medicaid expansion states. The amendment would have also extended ACA premium tax credits to Americans who would lose their health care coverage as a result of the budget bill. Republicans on the Rules Committee unanimously rejected the amendment. 

Rep. Sewell’s second amendment would have stricken any provision of the bill limiting state-directed Medicaid payments. In doing so, it would protect funding for labor and delivery units in hospitals serving patients in rural and underserved communities. Republicans on the Rules Committee unanimously rejected the amendment.

Rep. Sewell’s third amendment would have eliminated the bill’s harmful private school voucher scheme which diverts up to $5 billion annually from our nation’s public schools to reward wealthy families. Republicans on the Rules Committee unanimously rejected the amendment.

The Senate-passed version of President Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” includes the largest cut to health care and SNAP in American history, threatening to kick more than 190,000 Alabamians off their health care and jeopardizing food assistance for more than 750,000 Alabamians.

###