Fair Share America Brought the 14-State National Campaign to Colorado to Highlight the Harmful Impacts of the GOP’s Federal Budget + Tax Bill

“In Arizona, someone making $700,000 a year will get a tax cut worth nearly $80,000. Meanwhile, a single mom making $22,000 will lose more than $1,500. It is despicable.”- State House Democratic Leader Oscar de los Santos

“These tax cuts for the wealthiest are like Robin Hood in reverse. Let’s take from the poor and give to the rich. That’s not our America.”- Linda Soma, President of the Alliance for Retired Americans

Phoenix, Ariz. (July 13, 2025) – Yesterday, Fair Share America, Unrig our Economy, and state partners brought the “Stop the Billionaire Giveaway” national bus tour to Phoenix to highlight the devastating impact of the federal reconciliation bill on Arizona’s families, communities and economy.

The 45-foot tour bus, wrapped in a giant trillion-dollar bill, made its third stop in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District to send a clear message: working families should not have to pay the price for Republicans’ tax handouts to billionaires and big corporations that Rep.Schweikert supported.

Kristen Crowell, Executive Director of Fair Share America, spoke to the deeper movement behind the tour and what’s at stake for working families across the country:

“There is something different happening in this country. We are waking up to recognize that the billionaire class has hijacked all of us. They have pitted us against each other. They have brokered us like pawns. They are stealing our labor and taking it off to wherever they go with more money than they can even spend in a lifetime…This is our community. This is our sacred ground—and we’re going to fight like hell until we repeal the whole damn thing.”

State House Democratic Leader Oscar de los Santos called out the vote’s real-life consequences:

“No hospital should close just because the wealthiest men on the planet want another tax cut. But that is exactly what this bill does, a bill Rep. Schweikert voted for. It kicks nearly 400,000 Arizonans off of health care—moms, dads, children, and people with disabilities who will no longer be able to see a doctor. It rips food from the mouths of nearly 200,000 Arizonans. It eliminates 36,000 hospital jobs across the state—from nurses to janitors—and it will close five rural hospitals. People will die because of it. For what? So the top 1% can get another tax cut.”

Andrew Soto, a steward for AFSCME Local 2960 and a neighborhood services inspector for the City of Phoenix, delivered a passionate speech about the real-life impacts of the reconciliation bill on frontline workers, retirees, and everyday Arizonans. He emphasized that while billionaires and corporations reap permanent tax breaks, essential city services and working families are left to bear the cost:

“A billionaire with their huge new tax cut is not going to stop by and see if the zoning laws are being followed,” said Soto. “Congressman Schweikert should care if ordinances and regulations meant to make this a great place to raise a family, build a business, or visit on vacation actually exist and are enforced. I’m in the enforcement—but this vote shows that he does not think that way.”

Kimberly Hunt, a Tucson resident who grew up in the foster care system, spoke about how the federal budget bill threatens education opportunities for young people trying to get ahead:

"I'm here to advocate for marginalized groups of people. I was raised by a single dad who did his best, but I spent time in the foster care system—I am a product of the state. This bill impacts Pell Grants and scholarship funding. I had the opportunity to go to college because of that support, and other people deserve that chance too. Poverty isn't always about people being lazy—my family worked hard. It's systemic, and it's intentional. I now make six figures, and it's a really sad day when people who make six figures still can't afford to buy a home. We need to show up and speak out. If telling my story helps, I'm happy to do that."

Linda Soma, President of the Alliance for Retired Americans, called out the devastating consequences of the federal budget bill on seniors and working families.

“On behalf of our 50,000 members, I’m here today to say that we are adamantly opposed to this one brutal budget bill that Congress passed. We were opposed before they passed it, and we’re even more so now. This atrocious bill that robs from the poor in order to give to the rich will give a $4 trillion tax cut to the wealthiest Americans and large corporations, while robbing $1 trillion from essential programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and other vital areas that hurt seniors, children, and hard-working families.

“Over 860,000 older Americans nationwide rely on Medicaid to pay for nursing home costs, and an additional 5.6 million seniors receive home care services and support funded by Medicaid. Many low-income seniors with Medicare depend on Medicaid to help pay for their prescription drugs—and that’s one of the other things this brutal bill did. Because of the obstacles it puts in the way of Medicare being able to negotiate the price of prescription drugs—the ones seniors have fought for for over 20 years—that will now stop. The government will no longer be able to negotiate those rates down, causing costs to go up again.”

Lin Ogburn, a retired paralegal who helped Arizonans file for disability benefits, and a member of Alliance for Retired Americans, spoke personally about how the bill will harm seniors, disabled residents, and working families.

“So the cuts to Social Security and Medicaid hit me close. I just retired last year, so this is very hard. The Republicans in Congress passed the big, ugly bill, knowing it would be absolutely devastating to everyone on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Every Republican congressman, including David Schweikert, voted for the bill. Every Democrat voted against it. Cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and their funding will result in the loss of over 31% of Arizonans’ services. Those are seniors, children, the disabled, and working adults who qualify for Medicaid.”

A special thanks to our event partners including: Honest Arizona, LUCHA, Opportunity Arizona, AFSCME, Working Families Power, Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, and Maricopa Area Labor Federation (MALF)

The full bus tour swing through Arizona included three stops:

• Friday, July 11

  • 10 a.m.: Tucson - read the event recap here.

  • 2 p.m.: Oro Valley

• Saturday, July 12

  • 11 a.m.: Phoenix

Learn more about the “Stop the Billionaire Giveaway” bus online and on social media: @FairShare_USA on X and @FairShareAmerica (FB, IG, BS, Threads, TikTok).

###