via OSV News:

Twenty U.S. Catholic bishops have signed onto an interfaith effort opposing President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued its strongest statement to date on Thursday criticizing the bill….

Analysts have said proposals in the bill could cut Medicaid funding — health care for the poor — by as much as $880 billion over 10 years. That would mean stripping health coverage from as many as 16 million Americans and lead to about 50,000 preventable deaths each year, according to a report released June 25….

Wester, who was joined by 19 U.S. bishops in signing the letter, told OSV News they thought it would be “a good idea for faith leaders to come together to express our deep and profound concern about this bill, because it’s going to hurt and harm so many people, particularly immigrants and families and those who depend on the government to assist them for their medical needs.”

“This (legislation) is really violating our Catholic social teaching in terms of a preferential option for the poor, welcoming the stranger in our midst, the common good, subsidiarity,” he said. “It’s a very draconian kind of a bill that seems to have little or no regard for the people that will be affected by it.”…

Bishops leading dioceses who joined Wester in signing the letter were Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington; Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey; Bishop Steven Biegler of Cheyenne, Wyoming; Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix; Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle; Bishop Joseph Kopacz of Jackson, Mississippi; Bishop Michael Pham of San Diego; Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski of St. Louis; Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, California; Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky; Bishop Joseph Tyson of Yakima, Washington; and Archbishop Edward Weisenberger of Detroit. Retired Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, New York, several other auxiliary bishops, and representatives of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas rounded out the Catholic signatories on that letter, which also included representatives from Protestant, Jewish and Islamic faith traditions.

The letter states:

From our various faith perspectives, the moral test of a nation is how it treats those most in need of support. In our view, this legislation will harm the poor and vulnerable in our nation, to the detriment of the common good. Its passage would be a moral failure for American society as a whole.

We respectfully ask you to vote “no” on the budget reconciliation legislation, HR 1.