Some Dayton area residents are taking action to express their concerns with President Trump's proposed One Big, Beautiful Bill, including more than 200 people who attended a town hall forum this week.
The One Big, Beautiful Bill is a wide-ranging budget reconciliation bill currently in the U.S. Senate. It passed the U.S. House on May 25, largely along party lines.
Will Mansfield attended the town hall held at the Hope Hotel near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on Tuesday, June 17.
"This is democracy in action," said Mansfield. "It's a chance for people to make sure their voices are heard, to make sure we're part of a process and that our feedback is received."
In a statement this week, the White House say the bill includes "the largest tax cut in history, higher wages and take-home pay, unprecedented spending cuts, border security, protecting Medicaid, modernizing air traffic control, and much more."
U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, a Republican from Washington, said told the Ritzville Adams County Journal that the bill reflects what voters demanded.
“This legislation delivers on the promises made to the American people: to secure the border, cut taxes, unleash American energy and restore fairness to our economy,” he said.
But some Dayton-area residents say the proposed cuts in services are troubling. Others, like Cynthia Adejemi, are concerned about some of the policies in it. She doesn't like how the legislation would prohibit states from enforcing any law or regulation restricting AI for the next 10 years.
"The moratorium on the AI regulation at the state level could potentially disrupt millions of jobs, especially entry-level jobs like data processor, scheduler, things that generative AI has already taken over," Adejemi said.
Several people at the town hall explained the potential impacts this legislation could have on a range of social programs, including food assistance, Medicaid, farming and the environment.
Rachel Dominguez-Benner is a print artist and runs her own business. She says the proposed Medicaid cuts would affect her.
"I am currently living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer," she said. "Medicaid is literally saving my life."
According to Dominguez-Benner, her treatment includes a drug that she takes monthly and is suppressing the disease. "If I didn't have Medicaid, this drug would cost about $19,000 a month."
Mark Willis is the community engagement director for the Hall Hunger Initiative. He told the audience this bill could hurt local farmers.
"State governments bought food from small farmers, especially in underrepresented areas," he said. "That food went to schools and food banks. So it helped the farmers have some business, it helped the food banks meet the demand, and most importantly, it helped people who are hungry get fresh, healthy local food. It was scheduled around the 2027. It ends in two weeks."
Sue Ducker is a registered Democrat but says she's fiscally conservative.
"The Republican Party is supposedly fiscally conservative, why are they supporting a bill that adds almost $2 trillion to $3 trillion to the deficit?" she said.
Carol Roe is a nurse with Nurses for America. She believes the suggested Medicaid cuts will severely hurt the most vulnerable in our country.
"Cuts in the Affordable Care Act are going to mean those people that were able to get the subsidies to help them with their health care coverage, they're not going to be potentially be able to that," Roe said. "When you don't have coverage, then how do you get your medications? You put off treatments that you might need, you put off preventative visits that keep you well, so people could potentially end up in the emergency room. And then that's more expensive care."
After the town hall meeting, attendees also completed form letters stating their concerns. Organizers say they will mail them to Congressman Turner’s office.
