Statement: Rep Bell Votes NO on Shameful Republican Tax Bill

Washington, D.C.— Today, Representative Wesley Bell (D-Mo.) released the following statement following his vote against the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”:

“The shameful bill Republicans just rammed through in the dead of night hands a massive tax break to the richest Americans, while folks in St. Louis are stuck holding the bill.

It guts Medicaid, cutting nearly $600 million from Missouri’s health system and putting coverage for 33,000 of our neighbors in St. Louis at risk. It also slashes SNAP, making it harder for needy families to put food on the table.

We are called to serve. To fight for working class families. To protect the vulnerable. To govern with a conscience. This bill fails every one of those tests. I voted no.”

According to nonpartisan estimates, the Republican tax plan would add more than $4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade while significantly cutting funding for programs like Medicaid and SNAP. The Joint Economic Committee projects that roughly 13.7 million Americans would lose their health insurance under the proposed changes—more than 33,000 of them in Missouri’s First District. At the same time, the plan would extend tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the highest earners, with the top 0.1% receiving average annual tax breaks exceeding $300,000.