News · Press Release

Derrick Van Orden is a Liar and a Fraud and Everybody Knows It

Derrick Van Orden has spent months lying to Wisconsinites and throwing temper tantrums about his decisive vote to cut Medicaid.

But even JD Vance can’t save Van Orden from himself. 

Vance parachuted into WI-03 in an attempt to convince Wisconsinites that Van Orden didn’t actually vote to cut Medicaid (he did) while giving tax breaks to billionaires (he also did that).

It’s clear that Wisconsinites aren’t buying the BS that Van Orden and Vance are selling: “Wisconsin economists and tax policy experts say slashed public benefits will cost working-class families” and voters continue to protest Van Orden for prioritizing billionaires while failing to meet face-to-face with his constituents.

DCCC Spokesperson Katie Smith:
“Derrick Van Orden is a liar and a fraud and Wisconsin voters see right through him. Wisconsinites will fire Van Orden for his vote to slash Medicaid and rip away health care so he could give tax cuts to the billionaires and special interests.” 

See for yourself:
WEAU: Protesters gather for ‘Van Orden Can’t Hide’ protest in Eau Claire

  • A group of protesters are speaking out against Congressman Derrick Van Orden Friday.
  • The “Van Orden Can’t Hide” protest is taking place outside of the Mayo Clinic on Madison Street in Eau Claire.
  • Rita Simon, a former physician at the protest, says that cuts to Medicaid in the bill will cause healthcare to be too expensive for many Wisconsinites
  • “It’s only going to get worse and worse and worse, especially now with this situation. And people are just going to avoid serious health conditions because they know they’re not going to get help and they can’t afford it. And who wants to be bankrupt or die because you can’t get health care?” Simon said.
WQOW: Eau Claire group protests Rep. Van Orden after Vice President visits western Wisconsin

  • One day after Vice President JD Vance and Congressman Derrick Van Orden were in La Crosse speaking on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, people in Eau Claire are calling for Van Orden to hold a public town hall.
  • A group of about 60 gathered in front of the Mayo Hospital in Eau Claire Friday morning protesting the Big Beautiful Bill.
  • Democrats in Congress argue the bill cuts funding for Medicaid and puts hospitals in rural areas at risk of closing by adding additional requirements to qualify for Medicaid coverage.
  • Protesters called for Van Orden to hold a town hall to discuss the bill. One protester said he’s sick of the lying.
  • “When he has a chance for new money to be brought to town, he voted to cut billionaires’ and multimillionaires’ taxes,” said Myron Buchholz, a retired teacher. “They lie and they make it up and say it consistently, and it’s always amazing to me their followers continue to believe them.”
The Cap Times: Vance touts Trump tax cuts in Wisconsin; experts see more pain than gain

  • Vice President JD Vance visited La Crosse on Thursday to sell the ways President Donald Trump’s federal tax cuts are said to benefit families and businesses. But Wisconsin economists and tax policy experts say slashed public benefits will cost working-class families more than the tax decrease will help.
  • “I don’t think that the math adds up, because the tax reductions are very modest for people with low incomes,” said Andrew Reschovsky, professor emeritus of public affairs and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison La Follette School of Public Affairs. 
  • …most people won’t actually notice a change and a lot of these provisions are not new, according to Ross Milton, an economist at UW-Madison who specializes in federal tax policy. 
  • “The biggest piece of the bill is making permanent policies that were passed during Trump’s first term that were set to expire at the end of this year. Those included modest cuts for the middle class and large tax cuts for high-income households and business owners,” Milton said.
  • “The main beneficiaries of tax reductions will be the very rich and wealthy,” the economist said. “The middle class will get modest tax cuts, and on the other side, they will face the broader consequences of the tax bill.”
  • “It kind of pales in comparison to the tax cuts that are being extended that primarily benefit high-income households,” Milton said…
  • Households with an annual income between $460,000 and $1 million would see their taxes cut by an average of about $21,000, or 4.3% of their after-tax income, according to the Tax Policy Center, a joint group by the Brookings Institute and the Urban Institute. 
  • Meanwhile, households with an annual income of $35,000 or less would see a tax cut of less than 1%, or an average of $160.
  • The more concerning aspects of the legislation lie in the cuts to federal assistance programs, Milton said. 
  • The federal spending bill has come under scrutiny for requiring deep cuts to public benefit programs including Medicaid and federal food assistance, called FoodShare in Wisconsin. 
  • Analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that a total of 276,175 Wisconsin residents will lose health care coverage under both the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid over the next decade.
  • In Wisconsin, Medicaid programs cover about 1 million residents, or 20% of the state’s population, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. This includes coverage of about 40% of births, 40% of children and 60% of people in nursing homes, according to the DHS.
  • But Reschovsky said Wisconsin residents who are supported by those programs aren’t likely to see enough of a tax break to make up for the loss in programming.
  • “At the bottom of the income distribution, the net impact is actually negative,” [Reschovsky] said. “People will be absolutely worse off, because many of them will lose food stamps, Medicaid coverage, health insurance coverage, which is really a daunting fact.”

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