Booker, Jeffries hold pre-dawn Capitol livestream to decry GOP budget’s proposed cuts to Medicaid, SNAP
Senator Cory Booker and Representative Hakeem Jeffries convened an early-morning livestream from the west steps of the Capitol today, on Sunday, framing the discussion as a moral imperative for Americans across faith traditions.
With Congress scheduled to return tomorrow, on Monday, the two Democrats emphasized the stakes posed by the incoming budget resolution, which they say would sharply reduce funding for Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other vital safety-net programs in order to finance tax cuts for high-income earners.
The livestream, still ongoing at the steps of the Capitol at the time of this report, was promoted by Senator Booker on X as “a moral moment in America” and by Representative Jeffries as “a real conversation about the dangerous situation we confront in America.”
Here is the sit-in video (depending on when you get to read this article, it might not be live, but recorded):
The 27-page GOP budget bill, titled “H. Con. Res. 14” and agreed to by the House on April 10, serves as the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2025 and sets forth budgetary targets through 2034. It establishes recommended levels for federal revenues, new budget authority, total outlays, projected deficits and public debt ceilings.
For fiscal year 2025, the resolution recommends federal revenues of approximately $3.7 trillion against $4.6 trillion in outlays, yielding a deficit of roughly $936 billion, and raises the public debt limit to $36.5 trillion.
The resolution breaks budget authority and outlays into major functional categories, prescribing funding trajectories for defense, international affairs, health, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, veterans’ benefits and other domestic programs.
Under the plan, defense spending is set at nearly $933.5 billion in budget authority and a little over $909.5 billion in outlays for 2025, while health programs — including Medicare and Medicaid — together account for nearly $1.9 trillion in new authority and outlays above $1.9 trillion for the same year.
Title II creates reconciliation instructions for both chambers, directing key committees to submit deficit-reduction proposals or targeted spending increases by May 9. Committees spanning Agriculture, Armed Services, Education, Energy, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Judiciary, Natural Resources, Oversight, Transportation and Ways and Means must propose changes cumulatively affecting the deficit by trillions of dollars over the 2025–2034 period.
A series of reserve funds in Title III empowers budget chairs to adjust allocations for legislation that reduces spending by more than $2 trillion, reforms tax policy baselines, deregulates government in a deficit-neutral manner or strengthens and extends Medicare and Medicaid without increasing the long-term deficit.
Other provisions (Title IV) set enforcement mechanisms that adjust committee allocations if reconciliation targets are over- or under-achieved, stipulate procedural filings to the Congressional Record, and codify the budgetary treatment of administrative expenses and technical baseline adjustments.
Collectively, H. Con. Res. 14 codifies the House majority’s vision for federal fiscal policy over the next decade while laying the groundwork for significant debates on the future of America’s safety-net and tax structure when Congress reconvenes on Monday.
Featured photo via the official X account of Rep. Jeffries
