PITTSFIELD, Mass.—U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren called President Donald Trump's proposed bill a "Big, Beautiful Betrayal of the American People."
"Look, I'm not going to start out by trying to sugarcoat this. It's bad, and it's bad in Washington, it's bad all across this country," she said during a town hall event at the Colonial Theatre on Saturday.
Warren cautioned about Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill"'s impact on working families in Massachusetts and nationwide. Prompted by questions from the public, she also offered how Republican colleagues could be convinced to vote against it.
"When Republicans vote with Democrats, I don't do the test of you're a better person or a worse person. I look at this as how much did we turn up the heat?" she said.
"How much did we raise our voices? How much did we make clear that this is what the people you represent want? This is what you better get out there and vote for, and if you don't, we will remember this at the ballot box the next time you're up to be elected."
Warren said the bill, reported to reduce Medicaid by about $800 billion over the next decade, would cut access to health care for about 16 million people across the United States. She explained that in Massachusetts, it is called "MassHealth," and the program recognizes that nobody knows what health issues a person or their families may face.
"So what we decide as a country is we're all going to pitch in some of our nickels, and then if it's your family, or if it's your family, or if it's your family, then we'll all be there to help support. To help support those medical bills for that little baby. To help support for the home health aide for someone at home. To help pay for that nursing home. That's Medicaid, that's MassHealth. That's what we do with that program," she said.
"And right now, in Massachusetts, all across this country, about half of all newborn babies in our country rely on Medicaid to pay those bills. The prenatal that mom got, the care they get in the hospital, and the ongoing care for the ear infections, the things that happen. A lot of working parents have to rely on Medicaid because they don't have fancy enough private insurance. Today, right now, almost anybody who has a significant disability, who is getting a home health aide, getting a wheelchair, maybe special breathing equipment. It's Medicaid that's paying for that, and about half the people who are living in nursing homes have the bills picked up by Medicaid."
Speaking of the administration's response to protests against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its deportation efforts, Warren said this is a moment where the president has turned the National Guard and Marines against civilian protesters out in Los Angeles and where people are being "snatched off the streets by ICE."
"Snatched by people who are wearing masks, who don't identify themselves, who stuff people into unmarked vans, who bust out car windshields, who hang out at elementary schools trying to snag people in," she added.
"This is a moment when the cuts in Washington, they're aimed at our education system. They're aimed at research, at cancer research, at ALS research, at climate research, at the things that give us brighter futures. This is a moment where the President of the United States is the most openly corrupt human being to serve [in that oval office]."
She said the Republicans in Congress are suffering a major medical emergency: They have had their spines removed. Warren also spoke about threats to the Department of Education and Social Security, asserting, "Social Security is not charity. Social Security is something people earn."
Mayor Peter Marchetti reported that in recent months, Pittsfield, along with other communities across the country, have faced "serious challenges."
"With cuts to federal agencies and funding, we are starting to feel the impact at the local level," he said.
"We are being asked to review our federal grants to make sure they are compliant with orders being issued. If we don't make the changes, we run the risk of losing final funding. I'm doing everything in my power to make sure that Pittsfield has the resources we need and will hold them true to the values that we have."
Federal cuts to AmeriCorps grants have affected local organizations such as Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity and Greenagers. Recently, language related to gender, gender identity, and gender expression had to be removed from the city's AmeriCorps Senior contracts.
Marchetti said federal funding is a vital asset to this community and thanked Warren and fellow Massachusetts legislators who "fight the good fight" in advocating for the region.
"As we navigate the months and years ahead, we must stay loyal to our values and work together to navigate through these times that test our patience and our resilience. We've done it before, and we will continue to do it again," he said.
"We have a history of overcoming struggles, and we have partners at all levels of government who are fighting not only for Pittsfield, but all of Massachusetts. Local government is the backbone to American democracy, and we do not do this work alone. All of you here today need to join us in this work. For those that may not already be involved in our local government, consider volunteering on a board or commission. Advocate with your representatives on levels of government on the issues that are most important to you, and stay engaged. I am committed to creating a government that builds upon trust and serves everyone, no matter how you identify or what your background is."
State Senator Paul Mark said people gathering for the town hall on the first nice Saturday of the year "says a lot about the Berkshires and Pittsfield, that so many people would take the time to be here and participate in our government and our democracy at a very important time for that."
He said that Warren "has been awesome for so long that I think we're taking it for granted." He spoke about the time of former senator Ted Kennedy's death in 2009 and the ensuing election that put Republican candidate Scott Brown in his seat.
"In Massachusetts, I think sometimes we take for granted that we're going to vote the right way, that we're going to do the right thing," Mark said, later explaining that frustration from the result of this election inspired him to run.
His 2010 class in the House of Representatives was a majority Republican for the first time since the 1950s.
"We had no clue who was going to run and try to take back that seat, and I met Elizabeth Warren and [husband Bruce Mann] in Greenfield, and they came to an event, and she was a natural. She was amazing. She was smart. She knew things about the government. She wasn't just a pretty face. She had all the credentials and all the knowledge and all the education to back it up," he said.
"And I watched her cover all over this state, all over the region, just trying to win that seat so desperately, and she did, and then she's been down there in Washington now for 12 years, fighting for us through the good times, through the bad times, through the Obama years, through the first Trump years, through the Biden years, through COVID, through everything that has happened."
Mark added that now, "In a moment that is so much darker than I could ever have imagined back in 2008 and 2009," he is grateful that Massachusetts has a U.S. senator that is fighting for labor unions, the environment, civil rights, reproductive freedom and equity, immigrants, due process, the Constitution, and the rule of law.
Caroline Sharkey, a professor in social work focusing on the impact of trauma and healing innovations with young people and deindustrialized cities, asked what Congress is doing to reinstate appropriated funds for public safety and well-being in communities.
"Since 2019 firearms have been the leading cause of death for young people ages one to 19 in the US with no signs of shifting, and yet the oligarchy has slashed more than $800 million of already appropriated funding in violence research and more than 550 local gun violence prevention and crime reduction programs in 48 states are affected," Sharkey said.
Warren said in the "Big Beautiful Bill," the programs that haven't already been cut will also be cut, "and in addition to that, the current version of the bill actually makes it easier to get gun silencers."
"If the rest of the country followed Massachusetts, then we could prevent deaths from gun violence across this country by about 40 percent.. Think about that. People who are dying today would not die if we had better laws, and we need to fix that head-on," she said.
"I start there because that tells me we know what the goal is. We know where we're trying to head on gun violence and gun safety laws. The question you have to ask yourself is, 'So why doesn't it happen?' And the answer is not that there's not widespread support for it. The data I see suggests that, depending on how you kind of slice it and dice it, 90 percent of Americans, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, want to see us do things like background checks, want to see us do some basic gun safety laws, and yet it doesn't happen."
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