Rep. Rob Bresnahan (PA-08) Voted to Pass Budget Bill That Cuts Critical Benefits for Working Pennsylvanians

May 29, 2025

PENNSYLVANIA - Last week, Rep. Rob Bresnahan joined his Republican colleagues to vote for the largest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in history, threatening critical benefit programs that hundreds of thousands of his own constituents rely on in order to fund billionaire tax breaks. Now, residents of PA-08 are speaking out and showing up to express their frustration with Bresnahan’s vote and his failure to stand up for his constituents.

What They’re Saying:

The River Reporter: Letter to the editor: Bresnahan broke his pledge—again

• A month ago, Congressman Rob Bresnahan (R, PA-08) promised that he “[C]annot and will not support a final reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations…”

• This promise was made one month after a pledge he made in the pages of your newspaper:

• “[My district] is home to more than 200,000 Medicaid recipients, amounting to 25 percent of the district… If a bill is put in front of me that guts the benefits my neighbors rely on [Medicaid], I will not vote for it.”

• He broke that pledge almost immediately by voting for a budget resolution that did just that. His excuse that it was merely “procedural” rang hollow then and is proven hollow now.

• Early this morning, Bresnahan voted in favor of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that in fact cuts Medicaid as well as SNAP and many other federal programs that benefit his constituents and millions of other Americans.

• By the way, it also extends the 2017 tax cuts that mainly benefit the wealthy, and which will explode the deficit to epic proportions. The “savings” caused by gutting social services won’t make even the tiniest dent.

Citizen’s Voice: Letter to the editor: Bresnahan is either dishonest or uninformed

• U.S. Rob Bresnahan’s promise to protect Medicare was a lie. He voted for the budget bill that cuts $715 billion that will result in nine million Americans losing health insurance. He also voted for $300 billion in cuts to SNAP, causing 2.7 million households to lose nutritional assistance. Because the same bill contains tax cuts that will mostly benefit the super wealthy and big corporations, Bresnahan voted to add $2.3 trillion to the national debt. There is a “pay as you go” law that makes automatic cuts to programs when the national debt increases. Medicare is one of those programs subject to cuts. Those cuts to Medicare will total an estimated $500 billion and Bresnahan voted for this to happen.

• In short Bresnahan, voted to pay for a tax break for the ultra-rich by knowingly making cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. Those are the irrefutable facts. I’m certain that Bresnahan will engage in linguistic gymnastics by claiming “pay as you go” cut Medicare and not his vote, but it is his vote that will trigger the “pay as you go” cuts. Either he is unaware of “pay as you go” or he lied.

Scranton Times-Tribune: Letter: Bresnahan votes for SNAP cuts

• U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Dallas Twp., has pledged on many occasions to vote no on any budget that cuts benefits his constituents rely on. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee he just voted in favor of changes to the SNAP program that will hurt his constituents. Over 145,900 of his constituents rely on SNAP.

• As for Medicaid, Gov. Shapiro warned Wednesday that the Medicaid cuts Congress is considering would mean billions of dollars in lost federal aid to Pennsylvania, hundreds of thousands of people losing access to the health insurance program and more struggling rural hospitals shutting their doors.

• Shapiro also said that if the cuts are made, the state would be unable to make up that amount of lost federal aid.

• “I just need to stress: there is no back-filling at the state level,” Shapiro told WILK-FM radio in Wilkes-Barre. “There are no dollars available at the state level to make up for these cuts at the federal level. So if they cut someone off Medicaid, they’re off. We will not be able to fix that for them.”

• In our district, over 208,000 people including 88,000 children, currently rely on Medicaid.  We need the people of the Eighth Congressional District to call Rep. Bresnahan and tell him to honor his pledge to vote no on this budget bill that will make cuts to Medicaid and SNAP and will hurt his constituents.

Times Leader: Protesters rally against Rep. Bresnahan’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ vote

• Frustrated constituents of U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan gathered outside of his 900 Rutter Avenue office in Luzerne County to protest the freshman congressman’s vote in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will almost certainly result in cuts to Medicaid should it become law.

• “Rob Bresnahan promised that he wouldn’t support policies that hurt working families, and he said numerous times that he wouldn’t support cuts to Medicaid,” said protest organizer Megan Kocher. “This reconciliation package is going to cut over $600 billion for Medicaid. I’ve met with his staff, and I’m just really upset that he lied to us so many times.”

• The effects of the bill will be felt by many in the 8th congressional district, which includes all of Lackawanna, Pike and Wayne counties, as well as large swaths of Luzerne and Monroe counties. Some of those who are fearing the consequences were in attendance at Tuesday’s protest.

• Brenna Rabinowitz, another protester, was thinking of her three children, all of whom were adopted from foster care.

• “They’re all considered special needs. They all have different neurodivergent diagnoses, developmental delays and trauma resulting from their background,” Rabinowitz said of her children. “They all receive services through Medicaid that cost more than our family makes in a year, and those services have changed the trajectory of their lives.”

• “He turns around and votes for cuts to Medicaid every chance he gets. He’s a liar and a coward…” Rabinowitz said of Bresnahan.

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