WASHINGTON, D.C. – At around 12:45 AM this morning, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) delivered remarks on the Senate Floor outlining the disastrous impact Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill would have on New Jerseyans. As the Senate prepared for a marathon voting session on the bill, the Senator uplifted stories out of the thousands of people who’ve reached out to his office and attended his town halls to make their voices heard against this bill and outlined specific provisions he proposed to defend New Jerseyans’ access to affordable care, including life-saving Medicaid coverage. 

Video of Senator Kim’s Full Remarks 

Key quotes from Senator Kim’s full remarks as prepared include: 

“I want you to know to the people in New Jersey, the people in this country, this budget represents an abandonment by their government. This will hurt everyone we are supposed to be helping.” 

“After a gun accident when he was 11, Tom is a total quadriplegic…Medicaid helped him go to school and then college, and in his own words has given him dignity. When talking about this bill that we are debating here today, he said, ‘If I lose Medicaid, I feel like I’m getting shot in the head again. This time it’s not a bullet, it’s legislation. I want his words to echo through this chamber today for everyone to hear.’” 

“With all the challenges we are dealing with right now, it’s painful to think through what will happen if this bill goes into effect. The fact that these healthcare cuts will increase our gaps, worsen conditions, for our vulnerable communities, including our children. If we can’t stand up for them, our children, who are we willing to stand up for?”  

“This vote before us seems as surreal and reckless from within this chamber as it does from outside. But while the problem is the same, so is the solution. It is about courage…The courage that so many of my constituents have. So many people have called and shared their personal stories, stories about their families that they have probably not told anybody, but they feel so desperate right now to do something that they are willing to open themselves up…That is courage.  

“I say to my colleagues here today, you won’t be remembered if you pass this bill on President Trump’s timeline, or you feign concern about constituents, just to be able to stab them in the back later. You will be remembered by your courage to stand up and say no. You’ll be remembered by your courage to speak out for the people. Not just by the few who paid, but for all of them.” 

“I urge you to remember this job is bigger than all of us. Bigger than one man or one party. It is about using our vote and our courage to make lives better for those we represent. History and the American people are watching.” 

Over the course of months, Senator Kim has convened community conversations and hosted statewide town halls to hear directly from people and discuss how attacks on Medicaid and cuts to other programs in the Republican-lead budget bill would reduce access to healthcare coverage. In March, over 1,500 people showed up to Senator Kim’s town halls in areas represented by Republicans in the House of Representatives to share their frustration against their representatives for working to gut Medicaid. 

While one in three children in New Jersey rely on Medicaid, Republicans in Congress support a budget that would slash $930 billion from the program. Cuts to Medicaid would impact 300,000 people with a disability in New Jersey and 60% of nursing home residents who utilize Medicaid for their care. In the state, one in seven adults between the ages of 19 and 64 are covered by Medicaid.  

Before being elected to the U.S. Senate, Kim represented New Jersey’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House and was a career public servant working in national security and diplomacy at the White House, State Department, and Pentagon. Learn more about Senator Kim’s service on behalf of New Jersey here.   

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