MEDICAID IS NOT A HANDOUT

On 2025-05-08, Representative Maxine Dexter (D-OR-3) delivered a floor speech titled "MEDICAID IS NOT A HANDOUT" in the House.

MEDICAID IS NOT A HANDOUT

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 77 (Thursday, May 8, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 77 (Thursday, May 8, 2025)] [House] [Page H1923] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] MEDICAID IS NOT A HANDOUT (Ms. DEXTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Ms. DEXTER. Mr. Speaker, House Republicans' all-out attack on Medicaid is morally indefensible. In my district alone, over 255,000 Oregonians, including 59 percent of our children, rely on Medicaid for lifesaving care. These aren't just numbers. They are the cancer patients fighting for their lives, children with disabilities getting essential support, and seniors reliant on long-term care. Republicans want to slash hundreds of billions of dollars from the Medicaid committee, gutting healthcare for the most vulnerable, while billionaires and corporations get another payday. As a critical care physician, I know what this means. Without Medicaid, patients go without preventive care. They get sicker. They defer lifesaving medications. Too often, they don't survive. Medicaid is not a handout. It is a lifeline. Cutting it to fund tax breaks for the ultrawealthy is unconscionable because healthcare is a human right. It is not a bargaining chip. Oregon won't stand for these cuts, and neither will I. ____________________