Hickenlooper Votes Against Republicans’ Budget Plan

Republicans’ national budget will increase prices for Coloradans, gut critical services, increase the deficit, and give tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy

Republicans voted down Hickenlooper-led amendments to protect funding for Medicaid, Social Security

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper released the following statement after he voted against Republicans’ Senate Budget Resolution:

“The Republicans’ budget is a nightmare for working Americans. We’re game to make government more cost-effective and lower taxes for working families – this does the opposite,” said Hickenlooper. “Higher costs from the grocery store to the gas tank. Cuts to Americans’ health care. Increasing the national debt. All so Republicans can hand out tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.” 

Hickenlooper voted “No” on the budget resolution after Republicans voted down critical Democratic-led amendments to lower the cost of living and prevent cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, and veterans’ benefits. 

Hickenlooper led a group of Western senators to introduce an amendment to protect public lands from being sold to pay for Republicans’ tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. Watch his full remarks about his amendment HERE.

“Their tax handouts for the wealthy are so large – and so important – that some are willing to plunder our public lands,” said Hickenlooper. “So let’s be clear: Our public lands are not for sale.”

Hickenlooper also spoke on the floor yesterday about the Trump administration’s tariffs and Republican-led proposals that would harm small businesses and raise prices for working Americans. Watch his full remarks HERE.

“The bottom line is that these tariff taxes will lead to higher costs, they’re going to hurt small businesses, and I think ultimately they’re going to increase unemployment,” said Hickenlooper. “I don’t think that I could find anyone in Colorado [who] would say that this is what they were voting for in the last election.”

In total, Hickenlooper introduced and joined 17 amendments to the 2025 Senate Budget Resolution to oppose Republican provisions that would harm Coloradans, including:

Lowering Costs for Americans

• Lower the Cost of Energy: Safeguards the low cost of energy by preventing the administration from repealing energy tax credits, imposing energy tariffs, or blocking congressionally appropriated funding for new clean energy generation and energy infrastructure investments.

• Prevent Tariff Price Increases: Ensures the budget doesn’t increase the cost of food, medical equipment, building materials, automobiles, or other essential products for Americans as a result of the Trump administration’s tariffs.

Protecting Critical Health Care

• Prevent Cuts to Medicaid: Opposes cuts to Medicaid which would lead to benefit cuts, coverage loss, and slashed provider payments.

• Medicaid in Nursing Homes: Ensures the budget resolution does not reduce funding for Medicaid, which provides coverage for more than 60% of residents in nursing homes.

• Safeguard Public Health Research: Support for research and development funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

• Protect Medicaid Funding During a Recession: Ensures the budget doesn’t cut funding for Medicaid if the U.S. is in a recession, as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
• Lower the Cost of Prescription Drugs: Opposes legislation that would increase drug prices for seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare.

• Safeguard Healthcare for Veterans: Reverses Trump administration workforce cuts and fills frontline vacancies at the Veterans Health Administration, particularly personnel who provide health care to veterans in rural communities.

• Protecting the Veterans Administration Workforce: Prevents the Trump Administration from further reducing VA staffing levels through hiring freezes, deferred resignations, and termination of probationary employees.

Protecting Safety Net Programs

• Protect Social Security Benefits in Rural Areas: Provides funding to protect senior citizen’s access to Social Security benefits by keeping Social Security Administration field offices open and sufficiently staffed to provide customer service.
• Protect Social Security: Establishes a deficit neutral fund to both expand Social Security benefits and promote the long-term solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund.
• Prevent Cuts to Safety Net Services: Opposes any legislation that cuts  the Social Services Block Grant and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) which provide essential services for children, families, and seniors including Meals on Wheels, Head Start, and other child care assistance.

Protecting Public Lands

• Stop the Sale of Public Lands: Bars the Trump administration from selling public lands to reduce the federal deficit.

• Support Public Lands Workforce: Requires the federal government to maintain a sufficient workforce to support recreational access and land management on Department of the Interior lands, including for the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management.

• Protect Against Wildfire and Drought: Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for sufficient resources to address western drought, including for water supply availability and wildfire risk.

Supporting Unions

• Protect Collective Bargaining: Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to help stop future attempts to undermine or attack federal employees’ collective bargaining agreements or their ability to unionize.

Budget resolutions guide federal spending and revenue policies for the year. This is the second budget resolution the Senate has voted on during the reconciliation process. Hickenlooper voted against the first package in February. The Senate and the House must pass identical versions of the budget for the reconciliation bill to become law.

###