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Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is now law and Colorado Democrat Brittany Pettersen, who voted against it in the US House, says elements of the bill that eliminate taxes on tips and overtime will not be enough to counter the cuts that will affect low-income Coloradans. 

“These are the people who also are going to lose healthcare. They're going to have increased insurance costs. They're not going to have SNAP benefits. And so when you think about the safety nets that are being taken away … they are losing with this bill.” 

Pettersen represents Colorado’s 7th Congressional District and has been a vocal critic of the cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs included in the nearly 900-page law. She also says Republicans are not being forthright about the impacts that increased work requirements and other administrative demands for Medicaid will have on enrollment. 

“They know that it's very politically unpopular to do the things that they want to do. So instead of taking away Medicaid from the millions of people who are going to lose coverage because of this bill, they make it so impossible to qualify, to stay qualified,” she said.

Pettersen spoke with Colorado Matters Senior Host Ryan Warner about the impacts she expects to see from the newly passed legislation. She also discussed what the Democrats could have done differently to stave off legislation that she said will be a “catastrophe for our local communities.” 

“Unfortunately, we have failed to meet people where they're getting their news, to get our message out about what we stand for. And the Right has been effective at defining us and, unfortunately, polarizing some of these issues that make it so that people are less likely to support us,” Pettersen said. “Things like issues around transgender youth and things that people don't know a lot about — that you can create fear and misinformation.” 

Instead, Pettersen points to issues like paid family leave support in Colorado as examples that her party’s policies can garner wide support. 

“If you take out the partisanship and you look at the things that Democrats stand for, the policies that we want to fight for at the federal level, we have broad support,” Pettersen said.