ROANOKE, Va. – President Donald Trump signed his “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law on Friday, a sweeping federal budget bill that includes tax cuts, increased military spending, and significant cuts to programs like Medicaid. While supporters hail it as a win for working Americans, others worry about its deep cuts to key social safety net programs.
On the streets of downtown Roanoke, opinions were anything but one-sided.
“As a small business owner here in Roanoke, I’m always for anything that helps put money back in my pocket and my employees’ pockets,” said Laurie Martin. “As far as the Medicaid part, it’s not ideal, but as a business owner, we need all the tax breaks we can get to stay in business and be profitable.”
The nearly 900-page bill extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and eliminates federal taxes on tips, overtime, and car loans. It also raises the child tax credit from $2,000 per child to $2,500, something resident Brittney Benjamin says will help her family.
“Even though it’s only 500 extra bucks, it still makes a difference at the end of the year,” Benjamin said.
But the bill also includes major spending cuts, including $930 billion in cuts to Medicaid and $285 billion to SNAP, the federal food assistance program. For many, that’s where their concern begins.
“I don’t want to even call it a beautiful bill because to me it’s not beautiful,” said Roanoke resident Brenda La Sane. “To me, my understanding of that bill cuts Medicaid, cuts SNAP benefits. People need that. There’s a lot of people here suffering and they have illnesses that nobody even knows about. I think bills that are passed should help all and not just a portion of people.”
The legislation also allocates $157 billion for military spending, $150 billion for immigration enforcement, and $10 billion for Mars exploration.
Michael McCloskey, who lives in Roanoke and relies on disability benefits after injuring his neck playing American football, says he’s worried about the cost of those priorities.
“I do believe we need to fund the Defense Department, that is good, but not at the cost of cutting social services programs,” he said. “I’ve been paying taxes into this country since I was 14. That money should’ve been left in Social Security to accrue its own interest.”
With almost 2 million Virginians relying on Medicaid, Roanoke Healthcare groups are especially concerned about the Medicaid cuts. EnCircle, a local organization that supports people with disabilities, says Medicaid cuts could threaten people’s ability to live independently.
“We’re afraid people will end up in nursing homes or Virginia will move backward toward institutional-based care,” said Margaret Nimmo, EnCircle’s Chief Strategic Officer. “I think families and advocates for people with developmental disabilities have fought for decades to make sure people have the right to live a life as independent as possible in our community and Medicaid is what has made that possible. And so, when you cut Medicaid out at the knees it puts all of that at risk. And so that’s what we’re worried about.”
With the national debt ceiling raised by $5 trillion, debate over the bill’s full impact is likely far from over.