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When I read the op-ed from Congressman Riley Moore entitled "'One Big Beautiful Bill' Delivers for West Virginia," I was confused. After reading extensively about this garbage piece of legislation, I was hoping to discover some policies in his editorial that actually benefit West Virginians. But sadly, I couldn't find any. Maybe he accidentally on purpose forgot about the items I'm going to highlight in my letter, after all it was approximately 1000 pages in length. Or maybe he was too busy hiding from his constituents to actually read it.
He began the piece by talking about mass deportations of immigrants with no mention of whether they are criminals or not; whether they are citizens or not. Everyone wants border security, but what this administration is doing is shameful, cruel, and unconstitutional (ever hear of due process?). Instead of pouring billions of dollars into hiring more ICE agents and building what amounts to concentration camps, why not use American ingenuity to fix the immigration problem and help more people become productive citizens? President Biden worked with a bi-partisan group of Senators and actually came up with a very strong immigration bill, but under the influence of then-candidate Trump, House Leader Mike Johnson wouldn't even bring it up for a vote. Did you know that only 8% of the people already deported are criminals? That is not the American way.
Moore brags about tax cuts, but fails to mention that most of the tax cuts will be going to large corporations and billionaires. It's Robin Hood in reverse. Any small tax cut for working families will be wiped out by deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. According to the Washington Post, if you're in the bottom 20% ($0-$27,000 a year) you'll get an extra $110 a month. If you're in the top 1% ($916,900 and above) you'll get an extra $64,790+ a month. Wonder how many West Virginians fall into that category? I'm looking at you, Capito, Justice, and Moore.
Seniors over 6o in WV face a double whammy. Those from 60-64 may lose SNAP benefits unless they can work affecting many disabled folks or laid off individuals not yet eligible for Social Security. Many seniors rely on Medicaid for nursing home care. Get ready to take grandma in should her nursing home close. Deep Medicaid cuts could also cause the closure of rural hospitals that rely on those reimbursements.
About 1 in 4 children in WV live in poverty and many more in low-income working families. Medicaid and SNAP cuts will also harm these families and children. In WV, Medicaid/CHIP covers more than 255,000 kids. Elimination of Head Start and Title 1 (as proposed in Project 2025) would be devastating to low-income families and children needing special services. Our schools could lose even more teachers and valuable resources.
He then mentions energy dominance. H.R.1 scales back many clean energy initiatives which Moore claims will boost the fossil fuel industry (climate change be damned). Removing energy tax credits might slow the growth of solar and wind jobs, but let's face it, WV's coal employment has been declining for years due to automation and market forces, not renewables. Actually, new investments such as the battery factory in Weirton have begun to come into WV thanks to clean energy programs.
Finally, the Congressman touts "sanity" in reference to defunding Planned Parenthood. No matter which side of the abortion issue you are on, this is one more step backward by taking away from women much needed healthcare such as mammograms, PAP smears, and wellness checks. By the way, men also take advantage of some of the services provided by Planned Parenthood and under the Hyde amendment, tax dollars can not be used for abortions.
As planned, H.R.1 was designed to delay most of the damage until after the 2026 midterms. Senators Capito, Justice, and Representatives Miller and Moore need to be held responsible when the bills come due. They'll once again ask for your vote before you feel the impact, so stay alert.
Perhaps this so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" isn't so beautiful after all. Are we great yet?
Cindy Stemple,
RCDEC Chair