Colorado Democrats in Washington Decry ‘Monstrosity of a Spending Bill’

This story by Lindsey Toomer appeared on Colorado Newsline on May 22, 2025.

Following the U.S. House of Representatives’ 215-214 vote to approve Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill,” elected officials in Colorado had mixed reactions to the measure and how it will affect the state.

The 1,116-page tax and spending bill extends President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for businesses and individuals; reduces funding for Medicaid by $625 billion over 10 years; shifts the cost of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food aid program to state governments; drastically bolsters border security and defense spending; reworks energy permitting; and restructures federal aid for higher education, among many other provisions.

A new Congressional Budget Office analysis released late Tuesday showed the package favors the wealthy, projecting it would decrease resources for low-income families over the next decade while increasing resources for top earners.

The measure now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

Colorado’s members of the House voted along party lines, with Republicans in support of the bill and Democrats opposed. Republicans have celebrated the measure and said it will save working-class people money, while Democrats denounced it for cutting taxes for the wealthy and stripping Medicaid benefits.

“This bill will deliver for the American people by securing our borders, extending tax cuts, unleashing American energy, and making our nation stronger than ever before,” U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, a Colorado Springs Republican, said in a statement.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, said the bill is “bad for Colorado, Americans, and the country’s economy.” Before he was elected governor, Polis represented Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District in Congress.

“I’m disappointed to see Republican members of Colorado’s delegation vote to take health care away from Colorado kids, families, and vulnerable people, increasing health care costs on everyone,” Polis said in a statement. “If this bill is so ‘big and beautiful,’ as Republicans boast, then Americans should be asking why it wasn’t voted on in the light of day? The reality is, Americans are being left behind and left in the dark by Republicans in Washington.”

The House vote on the measure came early Thursday after an all-night session.

U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, a Fort Lupton Republican, applauded the bill’s support for additional immigration enforcement resources and said it preserves the long-term viability of Medicaid for those who need it most.

“This pro-family, pro-America bill isn’t just good policy, it follows through on promises made to working families,” Evans said in a statement. “As a father, Army combat veteran, and former cop, I fight every day to make Colorado a better place to live, work, and raise a family, and that’s exactly what this legislation does.”

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a Lakewood Democrat, said families in Colorado have shared their fears with her that the measure will affect their ability to afford health care.

“This bill means kids will go hungry, thousands of people will die without access to health care, and the progress we’ve made in fighting the opioid crisis will be erased,” Pettersen said in a statement. “Hospitals and nursing homes will shutter, and the health care costs for all of us will skyrocket. All to give the wealthiest people in the history of the world more tax giveaways on the backs of the rest of us.”

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Windsor Republican, said the bill is a step toward “implementing the America First mandate voters delivered” in November. A news release from her office celebrating the bill said she fought specifically to implement work requirements for Medicaid and to ensure Medicaid does not cover “transgender surgeries” or abortion care.

“This critical legislation makes the Trump tax cuts permanent, unleashes American energy production, invests billions in support of our farmers and ranchers by responsibly reforming SNAP benefits, strengthens Medicaid to focus on American citizens who truly need help, and delivers a final net deficit reduction of $1.5 trillion,” Boebert said in a statement.

While Republicans have touted Medicaid work requirements as a tool to ensure the program helps those who need it most, a KFF analysis has found that work requirements “would not have any meaningful impact” on how many recipients are working, and that 92% of adults on Medicaid are either working or would qualify for an exemption.

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat, said the “One Big, Bogus Bill” will lead to millions of people losing access to health care, including 26,760 Denver residents. She said the bill was put together “following hidden negotiations, overnight markups, and the last-minute release of bill text” to keep Americans from learning the contents of the bill.

“This monstrosity of a bill is so skewed towards the wealthiest Americans that more than 66% of the benefits would go to the top 20 percent of households by income, and people making less than $51,000 a year will actually see their taxes go up,” DeGette said in a statement. “This bill makes life harder for the American people while enriching the top earners in our country.”