Leader Schumer Dear Colleague On Senate Democrats' All Out Fight Against GOP “One Ugly Bill”

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer sent the following letter to Senate Democrats laying out the battle ahead to defend American families from catastrophic impacts of “One Ugly Bill,” which he calls one of the most destructive and shamelessly self-serving pieces of legislation in modern American history. Schumer vowed that Senate Democrats will enlist American Families to fight against the bills massive cuts to fund billionaire tax cuts.

***

June 1, 2025

Dear Colleague:

This month, President Trump and Senate Republicans will attempt to jam through Congress their “One Ugly Bill,” — one of the most destructive and shamelessly self-serving pieces of legislation in modern American history. This partisan monstrosity is nothing short of a billionaire hand out paid for by American families and we will fight it with everything we've got. Senate Democrats will make sure the American People see this bill for what it is: a ruthless power grab by the nation’s most wealthy at the expense of American families, millions of Americans’ healthcare,  and the very core of our democracy. Senate Democrats will use every tool at our disposal in this battle and we will enlist American families to join this fight.

The Republican plan is simple: sell-out working and middle-class families to pay-off the rich and well-connected. The bill would raise costs and taxes by an average of more than $800 for 40% of American families. 20 million Americans would see their health care costs skyrocket, while almost 14 million would lose their health insurance all together, including millions of children and seniors. 11 million people, including 4 million children, could lose access to safe and affordable food, while every one of the 40 million Americans receiving federal food assistance would get less support every month. All the while, their radical plan would see double digit energy cost increases for American households and businesses, and threaten close to 800,000 good-paying jobs in the clean-energy economy.

Why? To fund massive tax breaks to the nation’s richest, most powerful corporations. In fact, the legislation would gift a tax break of over $250,000 to the wealthiest 0.1% of American households. On this bill, Republicans’ rhetoric doesn’t match reality. The Congressional Budget Office has detailed that the Republican bill give the top 10% of earning households 65% of the benefit of the value of tax breaks while Americans making less than $51,000 a year would see their incomes go down.

Like many of you, I spent the past week hammering away at the Trump/Republican agenda as a betrayal of the middle class. Their entire agenda can be boiled down to this: billionaires win and families lose.

1. Billionaires win and families lose when Republicans kick millions of Americans off their health insurance by dismantling the ACA and proposing the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals and health centers will close and thousands of people will lose jobs.

2. Billionaires win and families lose when millions of children and families go hungry under Republicans’ plan to cut $300 billion from federal food aid program.

3. Billionaires win and families lose when Republicans kill clean energy investments that have created hundreds of thousands of related jobs across the country, lowered energy prices, and made the US more competitive with China.

Republicans are hell-bent on making the Trump tax cuts for billionaires permanent, exploding the federal debt by adding over $50 trillion to it in the next 30 years. After crying foul for years about the deficit, Republicans are once again showing their true colors and ignoring the budget-busting cost of their Tax Scam, seemingly content to burden our children and grandchildren to a lifetime of higher interest rates, higher costs, and fewer opportunities. To do so, Republicans are planning to use the Budget Chair’s section 312 authority under the Congressional Budget Act in an unprecedented and illegitimate manner to run rough-shod over the Byrd Rule.

In the Senate, our Committees have been working overtime to prepare for the Byrd Bath, targeting the litany of policies included in the Republican plan that are in clear violation of the reconciliation rules and in some cases, an assault on our very democracy. For example, House Republicans snuck in a devious policy to restrict the authority of federal courts to hold government officials in contempt when they violate court orders. Republican’s naked subservience to a lawless President is gravely dangerous and Senate Democrats won’t stand for it. Should Senate Republicans include this rotten provision, I vow, alongside all of you, to fight tooth and nail to strike this authoritarian attack on our system of justice.

Based on Senate Republicans’ public comments, it’s clear that if this reckless reconciliation bill passes the Senate it is very likely to contain changes, forcing it to be sent back to the House of Representatives. That’s why we must be united with our House Democratic colleagues to fight this assault on working families. Sunday afternoon, I spoke with Leader Jeffries about ways our caucuses can fight back together. This week, DSPC Chair Klobuchar and I invited the House Ranking Members of Ways & Means, Energy & Commerce, and Budget to meet with our caucus and share firsthand insight from their process and key Republican faultlines. When we fight side by side, our voice is louder and our case is stronger – and in this moment, unity isn’t optional, it’s our strongest weapon in defending American families.

But the fight will not just be in the Capitol. Public sentiment is everything. To my core, I know that if the American people truly knew how deeply devastating, damaging, and deceitful this Republican plan is, they will reject it. So we must continue to rally the American people in the shared fight to stop this radical agenda. Our caucus has done in-state events, held numerous Spotlight hearings, engaged earned and social media to push back, taken to the Senate floor, held rallies, and more to educate the American people on what’s happening and to call out Donald Trump and the Republicans’ radical agenda. Their extreme vision is a threat to our democracy, and we’re not backing down. We’re doubling down—and we’re just getting started.

Republicans’ “One Ugly Bill” is a farce; an attack on the values that make America great. We know the first four months of Donald Trump’s presidency have been catastrophic for the American people. It is our duty to fight for American families, to stop the damage,  and make certain Republicans are held accountable.

I look forward to returning to Washington this week to keep up the fight.

Sincerely,    

Charles E. Schumer

United States Senator

###