Big beautiful bonkers bill – Town Hall with Congressman Greg Casar

Texas Congressman and former Austin City Council Member Greg Casar (D-Austin) discussed threats to Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare on May 24 at the Austin Community College Eastview Campus. Joining the Congressman were representatives of local advocacy organizations and trade unions from around Texas.

The panel focused on the impacts of the Republican “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that the U.S. House on May 22 passed onto the senate by a single vote. The proposed bill includes massive cuts to Medicaid and would take health care services away from millions of people, including those with disabilities.

The package of more than 1,000 pages includes “the biggest cuts to social services in American history” Casar said. Here’s how the panel said that the cuts will impact individual Texans:

Medicaid – Medicaid provides free or low-cost health care and support services to low-income children and to adults with disabilities. Aloki Shah, President of the United Workers of Integral Care, said the new Medicaid restrictions will “make it harder for people to enroll and stay enrolled in the program that significantly improves their quality of life.”

Sparky Metz, an ADAPT of Texas speaker with cerebral palsy, said that he and his full time caregiver rely on each other. Their relationship is made possible by disability coverage paying livable wages to caregivers, said Sparky, who has been arrested more than 40 times at disability protests.

Medicare – Medicare faces eligibility changes that would strip low-income elderly adults of financial assistance, making it harder to access critical care. “I personally saw the impact when my grandpa died from preventable causes because of his lack of health coverage,” said Texas Farmers Union President Mike Oldham. “America is better than this.” A representative of the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans added, “We are here because we don’t want to be the last generation able to afford retirement.”

SNAP – Dr. Emily Briggs highlighted the Texas impacts of proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP). This legislation would decrease the SNAP budget by about $267 billion over 10 years, a 30 percent cut. She said that, “700,000 Texans will go hungry with these cuts to SNAP.”

Dr. Briggs said that smart investments in the health and wellbeing of Texans prevents serious health impacts later on. “High rates of uninsured people contribute to high levels of inefficiency and economic waste,” she said. “Basic health insurance coverage lowers statewide healthcare costs because people can access preventative care.”

Congressman Greg Casar

“What is happening now at the office of social security should horrify all of us,” Casar said. He focused on parts of the legislation that increase tax breaks for the top 20 percent of wealthy Americans. The upper limit on state and local taxes would increase from $10,000 to $40,000 — primarily benefiting those who make more than $400,000 a year. “This is not a left or right fight,” Casar said, “this is the billionaires versus everyone else.”

Casar expressed concern about proposed increased healthcare premiums for his constituents. “In my district premiums will increase by an average of $500, but some Republican districts will see increases upwards of $1,100,” he said. “Instead of lifting up Americans they are stripping away essential services.”

He urged attendees to contact their Senators. To vote down this legislation, four Republicans will need to side with Democrats. “The title on our doors in Washington DC is representative — we are meant to represent the will of the people,” he said. “We just need four Republican members of Congress to act like representatives of their district, instead of employees of the Trump-Musk organization.”

Casar also was the keynote speaker at the Texas Observer gala to award the Molly Prize for Investigative Journalism in Austin on May 28. There, he criticized some Democrats for being deferential to MAGA and Trump, arguing that to regain power Democrats must forcefully confront those forces.

The Observer awarded the 2025 Molly Prize to Rhana Natour and Eman Mohammed for “Coming to America,” their account of a teenage girl’s trip to the U.S. for medical attention after she lost her legs in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza. Students and faculty from the Austin Free Press-Huston-Tillotson University journalism project attended the Observer event.

Town Hall Attendees Included: 

• Advocacy Groups: Texas AFL-CIO, NAACP Austin, Texas Alliance for Retired Americans, ADAPT of Texas, Indivisible Austin, Indivisible Rosedale.
• Texas Workers Unions: Texas Farmers Union, AFSCME Retirees Texas, United Workers of Integral Care, Texas State Employees Union, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Texas American Federation of Teachers. (AFT)