Consortium Statement on the Passage of the Federal Budget Bill

July 3, 2025

Today, July 3, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed the budget bill, a sweeping piece of legislation that slashes essential safety net programs and undermines investments in clean energy and climate resilience.

Below is a statement from Lisa Patel, MD, executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health. The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health brings together medical societies to protect all people from the devastating health impacts of climate change and climate-related pollutants. The Consortium represents over half of physicians across the U.S.

“The Big Beautiful Bill rips away the very scaffolding that keeps families healthy. By stripping health insurance from at least 17 million Americans, gutting SNAP benefits, and reversing the momentum of wind and solar development, it undercuts the most basic determinants of health: medical care, nutrition, and affordable, reliable energy.

“As a pediatrician, I find it deeply troubling that policymakers would knowingly deepen hardship for children and families already on the front lines of climate-fueled disasters. Losing coverage means more untreated asthma during wildfire smoke, more emergency visits during heatwaves, and more long-term complications that our health care system—and our families—will have to bear.

“The pain will not be shared equally. Communities with the least wealth and power, often communities of color, are the same neighborhoods already overburdened by fossil-fuel pollution. They will feel the sting of higher energy prices first, while the bill preserves fossil-fuel dependence that dirties the air they breathe and accelerates climate change.

“Doctors, nurses, and health professionals strive every day to protect the health and dignity of all people in this country, but we cannot do our jobs when federal policy strips away access to care, food, and clean air in one stroke. The Big Beautiful Bill violates the principle of ‘do no harm’ at every turn. At the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, we will continue to inform the public, engage our colleagues, and advocate for policies that expand health care access, safeguard clean air and water, strengthen support for families, and accelerate a just, climate-resilient future for all.”

The views expressed here are of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health and not necessarily of its medical society members.