Congress Sends President Bill That Will Deepen Poverty and Hurt Working Families 

July 3, 2025 — Press Release

Deep Cuts to Consumer Protection, Health Care, and Food Assistance to Fund Tax Cuts for the Ultrawealthy

WASHINGTON – The reconciliation budget bill (H.R. 1) passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today guts consumer protections, eliminates life-saving health care funding and critical nutrition assistance, and robs borrowers of promised student loan benefits – heralding a stark future for working families and low income communities. The projected savings from ending and denying access to essential programs will be used primarily to fund tax cuts to the wealthiest individuals and Wall Street.

“Slashing vital programs that protect civil rights, consumer protections, health care, and education for working families to benefit the rich and powerful is wrong,” said Richard Dubois, executive director of the National Consumer Law Center. “The massive cuts to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau buried in the bill further empower large corporations over people.” 

“The giveaways to private equity firms subsidize predatory and extractive practices that harm workers, families, and communities,” said Ericka Taylor, co-executive director of Americans for Financial Reform. “At the same time, the big, brutal bill dismantles critical agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, making people more vulnerable to scams, ripoffs, and junk fees.”

“For many people who live paycheck-to-paycheck, this will be a financially devastating law. It should be repealed,” said Mike Calhoun, president at the Center for Responsible Lending.

“Today’s vote shows that Congress has forgotten the hard lessons of the financial crisis,” said Adam Rust, director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America. “This bill prioritizes the wealth of billionaires over the well-being of working families. By cutting funding to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it shortchanges the agency that exists to defend those who keep the economy running, and puts everyone’s financial stability at greater risk.”

“Gutting critical consumer protection agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will leave millions of hard-working American families more vulnerable to scams that cost consumers billions every year,” said John Breyault, vice president of public policy, telecommunications, and fraud at the National Consumers League. “Instead, this one big billionaire’s bill prioritizes the welfare of the 1% at the expense of everyday Americans.”

“There’s no justification for revoking consumers’ access to healthcare, food and financial protection,” said Ruth Susswein, director of  consumer protection at Consumer Action. “These actions plus gutting the CFPB–the only federal agency with a focus on consumer financial protection and empowerment– reveal Congress’s callous disregard for citizens.”