The Big Beautiful Bill facing local opposition
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Big Beautiful Bill has passed the House and now finds itself in the Senate waiting for a vote, but opposition to the bill is now becoming more vocal.
Names like Sen. Rand Paul and Sen. Rick Scott and former Trump advisor Elon Musk have shared concerns along with Democrats in the House and Senate. Here in Kentucky, Medicaid and rural health is a prominent concern when it comes to the Big Beautiful Bill. One local leader is skeptical this bill will protect rural Americans and their healthcare infrastructure.
“We’re going to see an estimated $1.7 billion cuts in revenue. That’s going to come straight to Kentucky with these cuts. We already see rural hospitals struggling to stay afloat. It’s going to hurt them. It’s going to cut their ability to provide the health care we need for rural areas that are already struggling. And so we’re going to start seeing those hospitals close. That’s my biggest concern. We need to make sure that we have access to that health care all across Kentucky and all of our rural parts of America, and this is going to hurt them and cause us to close these little hospitals down,” said chair of the Democrat Rural Council William Compton.
While there is much disagreement on whether the bill is beautiful, everyone agrees that the bill is big, covering many issues across the political landscape. Compton says that he concerned about a little known section of the bill that could have huge ramifications in the future.
“It stipulates the federal courts cannot enforce contempt orders or restraining orders unless the plaintiff has posted a monetary bond at the outset of the case, which rarely happens. And it is retroactive. And what this is doing is it’s eroding the judicial enforcement, and it’s breaking down our checks and balances of our judicial system. I mean, that’s what makes our country great, is we have this a three prong system that they keep each other in check. And what this is doing is it’s hurting that system and breaking down the democracy,” Compton said.
Right now the bill is sitting the Senate waiting on a vote but also facing some drastic opposition. Many are expecting conversations to last until July before a vote is taken.
