How Hudson Valley Lawmakers Voted on House Budget Resolution

The House narrowly passed a multitrillion-dollar budget framework Tuesday, bringing President Trump’s financial and legislative agenda one step closer to fruition. Here’s where Hudson Valley lawmakers stand.

The blueprint passed 217-215, despite disputes within the Republican majority and widespread opposition from Democrats.

President Trump wants Congress to pass a “big, beautiful bill” that would extend tax breaks set in his first term and slash funding for federal programs. Tuesday’s budget resolution calls for just that, with roughly $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in cuts to long-term spending. What would be cut remains to be seen, but Democrats worry the budget resolution will pave the way for cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP benefits, and other social services.

“The mission behind [the resolution] is to open up enough financial wherewithal to give more tax cuts to the wealthiest people and the most successful corporations,” says Congressman George Latimer, a Democrat from the 16th District. “That can’t possibly be why we exist in this country. We want a strong America, because we want the middle and the poor classes of this country to share in American success.”

As of October, more than 72 million Americans are enrolled in Medicaid. In a statement on X, Congressman Josh Riley says more than 240,000 people in the 19th District alone rely on it for their healthcare. The Democrat voted “no.”

Congressman Pat Ryan also voted “no.” In a statement, the Democrat from the 18th District says the budget resolution also doesn’t expand tax credits dating back to the American Rescue Plan that lowered insurance premiums for people under the Affordable Care Act.

“If Congress fails to renew the credits, premiums will go up for around 20 million Americans,” says Ryan. “And four million Americans will lose coverage all together.”

Congressman Mike Lawler, a Republican from the 17th District, voted for the resolution. He says the concerns over potential cuts to Medicaid are a lie, and that a final budget hasn’t been decided yet. In a statement on X, Lawler said he voted for the resolution because it would lift the cap on state and local tax deductions, and shrink the size of the federal government.

“I will always stand up against efforts to cut vital programs or take away your benefits. But it’s very clear, with $36 trillion in debt and a $7 trillion budget, we have to rein in the size and scope of government,” says Lawler. “And we will root out waste, fraud and abuse wherever it exists, within every agency and department.”

Ultimately, just one Republican, Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, voted against the resolution. Democrats unanimously opposed it, with just one representative, Arizona Democrat Raul Grijalva, not voting. The passage now allows Republicans to use a legislative process called reconciliation that could help them avoid a filibuster from Democrats in the Senate.

Before Tuesday’s vote, Congressman Paul Tonko, a Democrat from the 20th District, said he’s spoken with countless constituents in Albany who oppose the resolution.

“My constituents should never have to stand up and tell me they will interrupt their lives to fight with me in D.C. against the Republican agenda, but they did,” says Tonko. “Our job is to serve the American people, not rip access to basic necessities away from them at the behest of a president who declared himself king.”

Story by Jesse King/WAMC/New York Public News Network

Jesse King is the host of WAMC’s national program on women’s issues, “51%,” and the station’s bureau chief in the Hudson Valley. She has also produced episodes of the WAMC podcast “A New York Minute In History.”