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Dayton experts drill down on the 'One Big Beautiful Bill'

Image, room of people listening to man standing at podium.
Kathryn Mobley
/
WYSO
Almost two hundred Dayton area residents attend a town hall meeting at Hope Hotel. They listened to experts regarding aspects of the One Big Beautiful Bill.

In Washington D.C., U.S. senators are creating their version of the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Meanwhile in the Dayton area, a group of concerned citizens want more people talking about the legislation, questioning its content and sharing their concerns. Will Mansfield is part of the group.

"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 feed back is received."

Almost 200 attended. Some residents say proposed cuts and spending are troubling.

Dr. Cynthia Adejemi doesn't like how the legislation prohibits 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," said Adejemi.

Several experts explained the many potential impacts passage of this legislation could have on a range of social programs including Medicaid, farming, and the environment. Janae Christopher is a social work and political science student. She explained how connecting work requirements to SNAP benefits will be a real disadvantage for many current recipients.

"They're looking at forcing work requirements on veterans and people who are currently unhoused who have other life issues that need to be dealt with before they can enter the workforce," stated Christopher. "So we are creating more barriers for people to get food access rather than reducing the barriers."

Rachel Dominguez-Benner is a print artist and runs her own business. She passionately says this legislation must be defeated.

"I am currently living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. 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, that food went to schools and food banks," said Willis. "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."

The citizens group invited U.S. Representative Mike Turner to the town hall meeting. In our nation's capitol, the Republican represents District 10 which includes the Dayton area. According to his office, they did inform him of the invitation.

Sue and Howard Ducker were disappointed Congressman Mike Turner didn't attend the town hall meeting on June 17, 2025. Sue hoped for an opportunity to speak with the Republican.
Kathryn Mobley
/
WYSO
Sue and Howard Ducker were disappointed Congressman Mike Turner didn't attend the town hall meeting on June 17, 2025. Sue hoped for an opportunity to speak with the Republican.

Sue and Howard Ducker hoped to meet Turner and direct their questions to him. "I'm a registered Democrat but I am a fiscally conservative person," said Sue. "The Republican Party is supposedly fiscally conservative, why are they supporting a bill that adds almost $2 to $3 trillion to the deficit?"

Her husband, Howard, speculates Republicans in the House and in the Senate are still believing in an economic idea that's more theory than reality.

"I think that the Republicans as a whole adhere to an old idea of trickle-down economy and it hasn't worked up to now and it's not going to work under the current situation," said Howard.

Will Mansfield fears the long-term impact of the proposed cuts and sending. "The potential explosion of the deficit will impact the choices that our government has down the road when so much of our national budget will have to go towards servicing debt alone," said Mansfield. "That limits what we can do in terms of investments in infrastructure or any other social programs that a future government may wish to put into place."

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," explained Roe. "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."

On Capitol Hill many Republicans support this legislation, however during a recent interview, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene admitted more than cuts are needed.

"We can't get out of $36 trillion in debt without something else, because the interest is accumulating too fast," stated Greene. "We have to grow the economy, and President Trump is doing a great job with that, bringing in so many businesses that are investing in America. The GDP is doing great, inflation is coming down, and I would say that only five months of working at Doge in the government isn't enough time to fix those problems. This is going to take years and years of all of us working together."

Although other Republicans including Kentucky senator Rand Paul have stated the proposed cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill don’t offset proposed spending.

"The numbers don't add up. One of the things this big and beautiful bill is, is it's a vehicle for increasing spending for the military and for the border. It's about $320 billion in new spending," said Paul. "To put that in perspective, that's more than all the Doge cuts that we've found so far."

Most attendees of the June 17, 2025 town hall meeting wrote out their objections and concerns about the One Big Beautiful Bill on a form provided by the organizing team. The forms will be mailed to Republican Congressman Mike Turner, who represents District 10 in Washington, D.C.
Kathryn Mobley
/
WYSO
Most attendees of the June 17, 2025 town hall meeting wrote out their objections and concerns about the One Big Beautiful Bill on a form provided by the organizing team. The forms will be mailed to Republican Congressman Mike Turner, who represents District 10 in Washington, D.C.

After the town hall meeting, attendees also completed form letters stating their concerns. Organizers say they will mail them to Congressman Turner’s office.

Kathryn Mobley is an award-winning broadcast journalist, crafting stories for more than 30 years. At WYSO, her expertise includes politics, local government, education and more.

Email: kmobley@wyso.org
Cell phone: (937) 952-9924