On July 4th, or what Americans might call its version of “Independence Day,” President Donald Trump proudly signed the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a massive piece of legislation that slashes Medicaid, guts food assistance, rolls back clean energy investments and caps student loans.
What was supposed to be a day of rest and an extended celebration of Juneteenth (in my opinion) became another example of how “un-American” this country has been for a long time. It was intentional that the president signed this bill on that particular day, but what was so celebratory about it?
I thought the 4th of July was about celebrating freedom, equality and justice for all. No! Not when the people are consistently struggling to make ends meet, while the oligarchs at the top are helping themselves at the expense of the working class.
This “Big Ugly Bill” will make the poor poorer, the sick sicker, and the marginalized even more invisible.
The U.S. Medicaid enrollment is predominantly comprised of Black Americans, with 20% of enrollees being Black, even though they account for 14 percent of the population.
Under Trump’s bill, Medicaid recipients will be required to work 80 hours a month to stay eligible. Many Medicaid recipients are already working low-wage jobs with unpredictable hours, caring for family, or dealing with chronic health conditions themselves.
Clinics that provide abortions, including Planned Parenthood, where many women go for basic care like STI screenings and cancer screenings, will be banned from accepting Medicaid, even for non-abortion services.
Don’t get me started on the student loan discourse. It feels like no matter how hard you work, you can never pay these off in a reasonable time.
The bill also caps the amount graduate students can borrow at $100,000 for most and $200,000 for law and med students and eliminates deferment options for those facing hardship or job loss.
Black borrowers already carry a disproportionate share of student debt and often take longer to pay it off due to wage gaps, fewer family financial resources and other systemic factors. This bill won’t fix that. It’ll push borrowers into more debt or out of school entirely.
The list goes on, but I wanted to mention the added work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which already serves millions of struggling households. The Congressional Budget Office says 3 million people could lose access.
Around 27% of SNAP recipients are Black. So when benefits get cut, the children feel it. The elders feel it. The bill stretches stomachs and steals peace of mind.
For those who voted or didn’t vote in the past election, everyone will feel the heat. The bill won’t be enacted immediately, but will kick in over the next year. This is only seven months since the President was elected. And he is just getting started.
