The number of births in America in 2024 increased from 2023, but the fertility rate declined, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on July 24.
Births rose 1 percent from 2023 to 2024, the CDC said in a brief. The number of births in 2024 was 3.62 million.
That’s down from 3.9 million in 2010 and 16 percent lower than the peak of 4.3 million in 2007. It’s about the same as most recent years, although just 3.59 million were logged in 2023.
The fertility rate among females aged 15 to 44, on the other hand, declined by 1 percent in 2024 to 53.8 births per 1,000.
That’s down from 64.7 births per 1,000 females in that age group in 2010 and 118 per 1,000 females in the population in 1960.
The new fertility rate is the lowest on record, sinking from the previous low of 54.5 births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 44 in 2023.
It equals less than 1.6 children per female of childbearing age. Worldwide, the fertility rate is 2.2 children per female, according to the World Bank.
The birth and fertility data are drawn in part from birth certificates and U.S. Census data.
President Donald Trump, his administration, and members of Congress have said the falling fertility rate is a cause for concern.
A recent bill approved by Congress and signed by the president includes $1,000 accounts for newborns.
Trump in February also signed an order aimed at making in vitro fertilization, a method of conception, more affordable.
Birth rates are generally declining for women in most age groups—and that doesn’t seem likely to change in the near future, said Karen Guzzo, director of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina.
People are marrying later and are also worried about their ability to have the money, health insurance, and other resources needed to raise children in a stable environment, said Guzzo, who described measures such as the newborn accounts as largely symbolic.
Women in the United States have been giving birth on average at older ages. In 2024, the birth rate for females aged 15 to 34 declined. The rate was the same among women aged 35 to 39, and went up for women aged 40 to 44, according to the CDC.
That was a change from provisional data released earlier in the year that had indicated birth rate increases for women in their late 20s and 30s.
CDC officials said it was due to recalculations stemming from a change in the Census population estimates used to compute the birth rate.
Another Commercial Plane Disaster For Russia’s Sanctions-Hit Aviation
Another major aviation disaster has struck Russia. All 48 people aboard a passenger plane that crashed in Russia’s Far East have been confirmed dead, according to a Thursday statement by the governor of the Amur region, where the crash occurred.
Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry reported locating the burning wreckage of the Soviet-era twin turboprop aircraft on a hillside south of its intended destination – the town of Tynda, which lies over 7,000 kilometers from Moscow.
The aircraft was operated by Angara Airlines, based out of Siberia, and had taken off from Khabarovsk before made a stop in Blagoveshchensk near the Russian-Chinese border. Reports say it was going to Tynda at the time of the crash.
Wreckage has been observed scattered through a dense forest, with smoke rising from the scene of the reported crash, according to eyewitnesses and photographs.
The remoteness of the site and terrain have created great difficulty for rescue crews.
The aircraft reportedly lost contact with air traffic control and vanished from radar while attempting a second landing at the far eastern Tynda airport. Poor weather conditions may have contributed to the crash, local reports have said.
An-24 crash site in Russia’s Far East seen from helicopter — social media footage
49 on board, including 5 children and 6 crew — no survivors reported
Further, a number of Russian media outlets have emphasized that the aircraft was nearly 50 years old, based on information linked to its tail number.
Air accidents have been growing increasingly common in Russia, particularly in the recent years of the Ukraine war as international sanctions have obviously become a growing strain on the country’s aviation industry.
First footage from the crash site of the An-24 in the Amur region, Russia. The plane crashed 15 kilometers from the city of Tynda. There were 48 people on board. All are presumed dead.
Technical failure and pilot error are being considered the main causes of the tragedy.… pic.twitter.com/50ehCLAyFg
Like with most Western sanctions on ‘rogue’ states abroad, it is the common people who suffer most.
The same trend has been seen in Iran, which over the last decade has witnessed horrific aviation accidents, including the loss of a sitting president when his military helicopter crashed near Azerbaijan.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has achieved “substantial progress” in customer service, with improved call times and lower field wait times, the agency said in a July 23 statement.
The SSA handled “nearly 1.3 million calls on the national 800 number last week, or 70 percent more than the same week last fiscal year, while reducing the average speed of answer to six minutes,” the agency said.
“This response time is down from an average of 18 minutes so far this year, and 30 minutes last year, or an 80 percent reduction.”
Beneficiaries also get faster services when visiting field offices. So far this year, wait times in field offices have been reduced to 23 minutes from 30 minutes last year, down by 23 percent, the SSA said.
According to the agency, the implementation of new telephone technology on its national 800 number and in SSA field offices, as well as other measures, contributed to the improvement in customer service.
The SSA said it has eliminated the scheduled downtime of 29 hours per week for the “my Social Security” service, a free account that Americans can use to access various agency services, such as checking application status, managing benefits, or requesting a replacement Social Security card.
As a result of eliminating downtime, 125,000 more customers were able to access their accounts in the first week alone, according to the agency.
Moreover, the SSA has reduced the initial disability claims backlog to 940,000 pending cases, down 25 percent from a “record” of more than 1.2 million cases last year.
Average processing time for initial disability claims is now five days faster than before Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano’s tenure, it said. The Senate confirmed Bisignano as the 18th SSA commissioner in early May.
“Our vision is centered on providing outstanding service that works for everyone we serve—whether they call, walk into a field office, or choose to manage their benefits online,” Bisignano said in the July 23 statement.
“We are transforming the customer experience, investing in technology to build frontline capacity, and using real-time data to monitor performance, across the board. We are delivering higher levels of customer service—and this will continue.”
The SSA had faced criticism over customer service from AARP, an advocacy group for Americans aged 50 and older.
In an April 7 letter to then-SSA acting Commissioner Lee Dudek, AARP said it was receiving “numerous reports” of SSA website outages, high phone hold times, and long waits at field offices.
The group said it was “deeply troubled” by the sudden decline in service standards offered by the federal agency. For instance, callers were finding it difficult to get in touch with customer service due to high traffic, AARP highlighted.
In March, nearly one out of every three callers received a “pre-recorded message that the lines are too busy and are then hung up on by SSA. For those lucky enough to get their call answered, they often wait up to two-and-a-half hours or more for a call-back. This rapid decline in performance is deeply alarming,” the letter said, adding that an issue on this scale did not exist for much of last year.
“We are also hearing increased complaints from our members and others that Social Security’s website is crashing repeatedly. According to reports, SSA’s online portal hasz
Meanwhile, the agency announced it had completed sending more than 3.1 million retroactive payments, worth more than $17 billion, to beneficiaries of the Social Security Fairness Act.
The Act, signed into law by then-President Joe Biden in January, ended two Social Security provisions that reduced or eliminated benefits for millions of Americans.
After President Donald Trump came to power, he made it “very clear he wanted the Social Security Fairness Act to be implemented as quickly as possible,” Dudek said in a March 4 statement.
In its July 23 statement, the agency said it had completed sending payments to all eligible beneficiaries, five months ahead of schedule.
Netanyahu Recalls Team From Qatar As Gaza Ceasefire Talks Collapse Again
There were never high expectations, except perhaps in White House public statements, but now Israeli media is confirming that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recalled his negotiating team from Qatar as Gaza ceasefire talks have floundered.
This should come as no surprise, given that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have recently announced an expansion of ground operations in Gaza, and into the central part of the Strip. This also comes as scores of Palestinians are killed daily, with in some instances shootings happening while large groups rush aid stations.
According to two of the latest updates via the Times of Israel:
Hamas source says counteroffer includes clause preventing resumption of war even if no deal by end of truce
Minister says government pushing to wipe out Strip, make it completely Jewish
Prior to the Israeli team being recalled from Doha, reports indicated that Hamas offered to trade 10 Israeli hostages for 200 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences.
Hamas further wanted some 2,000 Palestinians who have been detained since the war’s start to be included in the prisoner swap.
Israel reportedly pushed for a 2-kilometer demilitarized buffer inside the Strip, while Hamas is said to have countered with one kilometer. All of this may be moot from the start, given much more land mass has already been utterly destroyed, and Israel is believed to be paving the way for eventual new settlements.
Times of Israel is further reporting, citing a source privy to negotiations, that US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff shares Israel’s view that Hamas’s recent proposal is insufficient and won’t get the warring sides to the goal line.
In Israel, the families of the hostage victims are going to be further outraged at what they see as another opportunity to get their loved ones home pass by.
Netanyahu has clearly prioritized the defeat of Hamas, however, to ensure it can never rule Gaza again. And so he has refused to contemplate anything less than a military solution, apparently.
Watch: Iranian Helicopter Confronts US Destroyer Approaching Territorial Waters
Iran has claimed it confronted and warned a US Navy destroyer to alter its course as it neared Iranian territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman.
Iranian state media released video and images from the encounter on Wednesday, which if accurate would be the firstknown direct confrontation between Iranian and American forces since the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel in June. The footage was taken from a helicopter deployed by the IRGC Navy to intercept the vessel.
Surprisingly, the Pentagon did acknowledge the encounter, and described the interaction as “professional” while saying it had no effect on its operations.
But the Iranian side described it as an act of aggression by the US military, with state television in Iran accusing the warship USS Fitzgerald of making a “provocative” move by approaching waters in Iran’s own backyard.
The video shows a helicopter flying close to the warship, with an Iranian crew member issuing a radio warning in English, demanding that the ship change course as it neared Iran’s territorial waters around 10am local time. Iranian media further characterized the event as a tense standoff.
The US vessel responded by warning it would fire on the Iranian aircraft if it did not retreat, per the claims of Iranian officials, and the vessel eventually left the area following repeated Iranian warnings. Thus Tehran is saying its Navy chased the US destroyer out of Iranian territorial waters.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has roundly rejected Iran’s version of events, instead describing in a statement the following:
“This had no effect on the USS Fitzgerald‘s mission, and any claims to the contrary are misinformation from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” the official said of the exchange which occurred in international waters.
Below: watch the standoff as featured in Iranian footage:
IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News on Wednesday released footage it claimed showed an Iranian navy helicopter forcing the USS Fitzgerald, a US guided missile destroyer, to alter its course. The report said the warship had approached waters under Iran’s supervision in the Sea of Oman. pic.twitter.com/gcfMQ23K6f
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) July 23, 2025
Iran’s president just this week said his country will continue enrichment uranium for its peaceful nuclear energy program, and stands ready to take on any future potential Israeli or US attacks.
President Trump meanwhile has said he’s ready and willing to attack Iran again if it looks like the Islamic Republic is trying to reconstitute its ‘destroyed’ nuclear program.
As for the possibility of resuming talks, according to the latest in Reuters: “Iran is ready to resume nuclear talks with the United States as long as some principles are respected, deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Thursday, a day before a meeting with European powers in Istanbul.”
The statement continued: “The Iranian diplomat said talks could resume as long as Tehran’s rights under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty are recognized and Washington builds trust with Tehran and guarantees that negotiations will not lead to renewed military action against Iran.”
The Australian government has finally announced it will remove tough restrictions on fresh U.S. beef imports after months-long internal debate over how to respond to the Trump administration’s tariff regime.
In April, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his administration’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs that saw countries like Australia hit with a 10 percent tariff on all goods going to America.
A major bone of contention from U.S. producers has been Australia’s biosecurity restrictions that have held up U.S. beef for about 20 years.
In 2003, U.S. beef imports were barred after a single case of mad cow disease was discovered. This ban was finally lifted in 2019, however, another issue was the origin of U.S. beef, with herds often using Canadian and Mexican cattle.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) called these rules “lop-sided and unfair.”
Yet despite Australian protestations against tariffs, ultimately, the U.S. side held the key bargaining chip with the tariffs bringing uncertainty to Australia’s vast beef export trade to the United States.
Australia is the largest source of beef imports for the United States, sending about 400,000 tonnes annually. It is also the largest source of wagyu beef, accounting for 48 percent of the U.S. national market.
Minister Satisfied With US Beef Standards
On July 24, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the Labor government would be willing to embrace “open and fair trade.”
“Our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this,” she told reporters in Canberra.
Collins gave assurances that biosecurity would not be compromised, though the finer details need to be defined.
“The U.S. Beef Imports Review has undergone a rigorous science and risk-based assessment over the past decade,” she said.
“The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is satisfied the strengthened control measures put in place by the U.S. effectively manage biosecurity risks.
The latest announcement will lift the ban on beef sourced from Canada or Mexico after the United States introduced more robust movement controls in late 2024 and early 2025, allowing for improved identification and tracing.
Labor MP Amanda Rishworth said the Department of Agriculture was satisfied with U.S. standards.
“The review of the beef, the U.S. beef imports, has been a decade long,” she told ABC Radio National.
“So it undergoes rigorous scientific and risk-based assessment by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestries and they have looked at the evidence and they have got enough assurances that control measures will be in place. It is their decision to lift the ban.”
Coalition Calls for More Detail
But National and Liberal MPs have asked for more clarity around what those checks and assurances mean.
Nationals Leader David Littleproud went so far as to suggest an independent panel review the decision.
“I want to see the science and it should be predicated on science,” he said, incidentally the Trump administration has accused countries like Argentina and the UK—who also ban U.S. beef—of basing their decisions on “unsubstantiated” and “non-science-based standards.”
Nationals Deputy Kevin Hogan said his party was still waiting on assurances that Australia’s biosecurity was protected.
“There hasn’t been a full ban on American beef into Australia for years, there’s been a partial ban in place,” he said.
“The full ban has actually applied to Mexico and Canada … we just don’t want any of the biosecurity measures and protocols to be weakened.”
Fellow Liberal MP James Patterson also called for more detail.
“The prime minister himself has said that we couldn’t relax the restrictions on the importation of U.S. beef because of serious biosecurity concerns,” he said.
“So if the government has found some way of dealing with that issue, protecting our domestic agricultural industry from the introduction of foreign diseases and pests, then they should say so.”
Bipartisan Criticism of Tariffs, Lawyer Says There’s More to the Story
Previously, both sides of politics had been critical of the Trump tariffs, espousing the benefits of “free trade” without tariffs.
“We’ll never loosen any rules regarding our biosecurity,” he said.
A line the Liberal Party also maintained.
“This isn’t about protecting an industry’s prosperity, it’s about protecting an industry’s integrity,” said Senator Jane Hume.
“So if you are tweaking biosecurity laws by watering them down, that’s something that I think that we would be very concerned about.”
However, in an interview with The Epoch Times, commercial lawyer Dan Ryan said Australia should recalibrate how it views free trade, and that Australia could learn from the Trump administration’s use of tariffs.
“You will never be able to produce a manufacturing industry of any consequence, as long as you have a trade agreement with China that allows 100 percent of their manufactured goods to come in here duty-free,” said the Mandarin-speaking lawyer, who was formerly on the Australia-China Council.
“The founders of Australia, [Robert] Menzies and others, recognise that as a sovereign nation, we need to have our own independent industrial capacity, even if it costs a little bit more,” Ryan said.
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Stay tuned… ZH Store is relaunching our clean meat section with NEW features (and lower prices)!
Trump EPA To Remove “Greenhouse Gases” From List Of Dangerous Pollutants
The Trump administration is acting to overturn a key 2009 Environmental Protection Agency finding used to justify most federal government regulations regarding climate change.
The EPA has crafted a proposal that would undo the government’s “endangerment finding”, a determination that pollutants from burning fossil fuels, such as carbon dioxide and methane, can be regulated under the Clean Air Act. The finding has long served as the foundation for a host of policies and rules to address climate change. The EPA’s proposal to revoke the finding is currently under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
In 2007, the Supreme Court found in Massachusetts v. EPA that the agency is required to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Then, in 2009 during the Obama administration, the EPA declared greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were a hazard to people.
“This long-overdue finding cements 2009’s place in history as the year when the United States Government began seriously addressing the challenge of greenhouse gas pollution and seizing the opportunity of clean-energy reform,” then-EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in announcing the decision.
Under the endangerment finding, the EPA has assumed the power through the Clean Air Act (CCA) to set emission standards for vehicles, industrial sources and various products including lawn mowers and chainsaws. This has led to higher production costs for goods, as well as a gradual decline in build quality in regulated goods as companies struggle to pass arbitrary EPA standards.
The EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program requires facilities to track and report their emissions (such as carbon emissions) for potential regulation.
The EPA sets fuel efficiency standards which add expense to the productions of motor vehicles. These standards are also used by various states as a tax revenue generator, requiring annual emissions tests and potentially expensive car repairs. A “Car Repair Waver” in states like California (if you are eligible) costs $650.
There are numerous subsidies tied to EPA climate efforts and emissions rules. These include grants for “green energy” projects and funding for the replacement of more efficient and effective “fossil fuel” based power plants.
Finally, the EPA’s climate target requires a 55% reduction in US greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. This is, of course, an impossible task using existing technology. Green energy alternatives are nowhere near efficient enough to replace oil, coal and natural gas. The cost would be immense and any future industrial efforts by the US would be crippled.
Furthermore, pervasive cuts would have to be made to the base consumption of food and energy, leading to economic suicide. Climate control advocates argue that the global population will have to be reduced dramatically to achieve the net zero agenda.
Propagandists warn that the removal of CO2 and methane from the endangerment list will cause a fundamental shift in the way the government addresses the “hotter climate”. They say the Trump Administration’s efforts come in the wake of the “hottest year” humans have ever recorded on Earth, climate-fueled wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes in Los Angeles and hotter ocean temperatures that made Hurricane Helene stronger and more likely to cause damage inland.
These are easily debunked fallacies designed to create hysteria within the general public. Fear of impending climate Apocalypse generates considerable tax dollars for various governments and also allows them to quietly impose greater control over the populace.
The claim that the Earth is the hottest humans have ever recorded is false. This is based on “officially recorded” weather records which started in the late-1800s. This is a tiny window in the weather history of the Earth. If we look at the longer term temperature pattern it becomes clear that we are actually living in one of the coldest periods on the planet in the past 500 million years.
The Earth just exited an ice age. The current warming period is a good thing. There is also no evidence that warming is being caused by human industry or “greenhouse gases” like CO2. When we examine the long term history of atmospheric carbon content vs average temperatures, it is clear that there is no correlation or a causational relationship between CO2 and hotter temps.
Finally, there is no evidence that human industrial activity has any effect on weather patterns. There is no increase in fire activity relative to a hundred years ago, nor is there any increase in storm activity relative to the past 100 years.
The debate over climate change is over. Climate scientists, driven by the desire for lucrative government subsidies and a lack of professional ethics, have helped to fabricate a grand lie that has now been exposed by core data. Their use of the tiny 140 year window of official temperature records is highly dishonest and their claims of a relationship between carbon emissions and temperature are easily dismissed.
Trump’s reversal of EPA standards and deregulation will help the US economy. More importantly, it starts the much needed process of removing climate change brainwashing from the federal government’s vernacular. It’s time for western civilization to abandon the climate hoax and move on.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced on July 23 that Republicans would pursue passage of a resolution to form a new subcommittee that would investigate events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach.
If the resolution, introduced by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), is approved by the House, it would authorize the creation of the second House panel dedicated to exploring the events of the day, when protestors entered the U.S. Capitol, causing a delay in the certification of the 2020 election results.
Loudermilk filed the resolution as lawmakers were leaving for their month-long August recess. It will receive a vote when Congress returns in September.
The authorization of the subcommittee, promised by Johnson at the start of the 119th Congress, has been delayed for months, with work on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act taking precedence.
The first subcommittee investigating the events—the Select Subcommittee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol—was established in June 2021 and included only two Republicans, Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
Critics accused the panel of bias against then-former President Donald Trump and of not considering certain pieces of evidence.
Several of Trump’s allies, most prominently Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, were imprisoned on contempt of Congress charges for their refusal to cooperate with the probe.
Loudermilk was also targeted for investigation by the panel regarding a tour he gave of the Capitol complex ahead of Jan. 6. If the resolution is approved by the House, he’d be the chairman of the new panel.
During the previous Congress, Loudermilk served on the House Administration Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight, which investigated the events surrounding the day and the previous subcommittee’s handling of the issue.
In a report issued in December 2024, the committee alleged a litany of errors in how the original Jan. 6 panel had managed its investigation, recommending potential criminal investigations into Cheney and calling the panel “improperly constituted and [lacking] authority.”
In a statement on the bill, Loudermilk said: “I am honored to continue the investigation into the events surrounding January 6, 2021, and the failures that led to the breach of the U.S. Capitol. From my subcommittee investigation in the 118th Congress, we uncovered that what happened at the Capitol that day was the result of a series of intelligence, security, and leadership failures at multiple levels within numerous entities.
“It is vital that we continue to uncover the facts and begin the task of making needed reforms to ensure this level of security failure may never happen again.”
In a statement on the resolution, Johnson said: “House Republicans are proud of our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 Select Committee during the 117th Congress, but there is clearly more work to be done.
“The resolution introduced today will establish this Select Subcommittee so we can continue our efforts to uncover the full truth that is owed to the American people.”
The panel would be under the House Judiciary Committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
In a statement on the resolution, Jordan said: “The partisan January 6 Committee failed to uncover crucial pieces of information for the American people … Rep. Loudermilk will continue to work tirelessly to get everyone the truth.”
Russia’s Pacific Fleet has kicked off a series of major naval drills Thursday which are aimed at improving and evaluating its ability to defend key maritime infrastructure, according to Interfax.
DubbedJuly Storm, the drills are quite large as they feature more than 150 naval and support vessels, 120 aircraft, 10 coastal missile systems, nearly 1,000 pieces of military equipment, and over 15,000 personnel from all four of Russia’s main fleets.
The exercises cover multiple naval zones, including the Pacific, Arctic, Baltic, and Caspian seas and are planned to run through July 27th.
A Russian naval statement further described that the drills are more broadly designed to boost combat preparedness for unconventional scenarios. Similar scenarios have actually played out in Western Russia in the context of the Ukraine war.
For example, off the far eastern city of Vladivostok naval patrol boats practiced how to respond to simulated attacks by unmanned surface craft and aerial drones.
In another scenario mock enemy drones targeted the Russky Bridge in the same city – which is the longest cable-stayed suspension bridge in the world (having a total length of 10,200 feet). The first day of the drills saw a defensive response from Mi-8 and Ka-27PS helicopters carrying anti-terror units during the mock bridge attack.
According to the fleet’s media statement, Russian forces eliminated the simulated threat using small arms and strike drones launched from a nearby warship.
In another phase of the exercise, the corvette Gremyashchy launched an anti-submarine missile at a submerged training target in the Pacific, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Earlier this week, something much more than a mere drill happened off Alaska, as the North American Aerospace Defense Command said it spotted Russian military aircraft flying near America’s coast on Tuesday.
The Russian aircraft did not enter US or Canadian airspace, but NORAD confirmed they entered the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. Still the statement indicated the activity was “not seen as a threat.”
House Democratic leaders plan to use the August recess to launch a nationwide campaign against the Republican-led budget law signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month—an effort they say will define the lead-up to the 2026 midterms.
“The one big, ugly bill is deeply unpopular,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said during a press conference July 22, using the Democrats’ name for the bill, officially titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by its GOP sponsors. “Donald Trump is deeply unpopular. And House Republicans haven’t done a damn thing to make life more affordable for the American people.”
Public opinion has been mixed. In a poll released on July 15 by CNN/SSRS, 61 percent of respondents said they oppose the legislation. Regarding its economic impact, 51 percent said it would hurt the economy, while 29 percent said it would help.
Jeffries, joined by Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), said Democrats will hold town halls and public events throughout the recess to highlight what they describe as the harmful effects of the spending package. Democrats have already made clear they will make the bill a centerpiece of their midterm strategy, warning it could lead to layoffs, benefit cuts, and rising costs for working families.
The legislation passed the House and Senate this month and was signed by Trump. Republicans say it streamlines government and boosts growth. The sweeping measure includes deep cuts to Medicaid, restructuring of safety net programs, and tax reductions that GOP leaders say will stimulate economic growth.
But Democrats say it will do the opposite.
“Hospitals will close. Nursing homes will shut down. Community-based health clinics will be unable to operate,” Jeffries added in the press conference.
Clark, speaking after Jeffries, accused Republicans of prioritizing the wealthy while undermining families.
“Their signature bill, the big, ugly bill, kicked 15 million Americans off their health insurance, takes food from 16 million kids, raises energy bills, shuts down hospitals, denies veterans their benefits,” she said. “They run up the debt to give tax breaks to billionaires.”
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the bill’s Medicaid provisions are expected to increase the number of uninsured Americans by 7.7 million, something Republicans have disputed.
The changes include new requirements for all enrollees to verify income and citizenship every six months starting in 2027. The bill also imposes a work or community engagement requirement of 20 hours per week for certain adults, effective no sooner than January 2027. States will also be allowed to impose cost-sharing of up to $35 per visit on some Medicaid expansion enrollees starting in 2028.
Republicans have argued these changes will improve program integrity. “[The bill] requires citizenship verification and more frequent eligibility checks in order to ensure illegal immigrants and ineligible beneficiaries are not able to receive Medicaid,” Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said in May. But some health policy analysts warn the new requirements could cause eligible Americans to lose coverage due to administrative hurdles.
House Democrats say they will contrast the Republican law with their own vision of an “affordable economy,” pointing to upcoming themed events, including a Medicare and Medicaid Day of Action on July 30, a Social Security-focused day on Aug. 14, and a Cost of Living Week of Action later that month.
“We believe in this country that when you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to live the good life,” Jeffries said. “That means Republicans need to keep their hands off of Social Security and Medicare.”
Aguilar said the new law’s Medicaid cuts are already forcing rural hospitals to shut down. “They’re closing nursing homes, forcing grandma and grandpa to fend for themselves while making the purchase of a new private jet fully tax deductible,” he said.
The bill also reduces a financing tool used by nearly every state to boost federal Medicaid reimbursements. By phasing down allowable provider taxes from 6 percent to 3.5 percent in expansion states over five years, some Republicans say they are ending a form of “money laundering,” but critics warn the move could threaten hospital budgets.
To offset potential losses, the bill creates a $50 billion Rural Hospital Stabilization Fund, with funds available from 2026 through 2030.
Jeffries spoke for nearly nine hours on the House floor on July 2 in an attempt to delay the bill’s passage. Democrats have said the bill could raise health insurance premiums for middle-class families and reduce access to care, especially in expansion states.
Despite Democrats’ criticism, House Republican leaders praised the bill as a generational win. In a statement after its passage, GOP leadership said the law “permanently lowers taxes,” “unleashes American energy dominance,” and “makes government more efficient and effective.”
But Democrats said voters will reject those claims once they see the effects firsthand.
“They are literally running away from the needs of the American people in order to protect the very wealthy,” Clark said Wednesday.
