David Valadao (CA-22) Research Report
Significant Findings
Summary from the report. Click a headline to see its findings.
David Valadao’s Vote For The One Big Beautiful Bill Was Projected To Cost Hospitals In His District Nearly $90 Million In Medicaid Revenue And Devastate The 68% Of His Constituents Who Relied On Medicaid
5 findings
- Valadao voted twice for the One Big Beautiful Bill, despite promising not to because of the cuts the legislation made to Medicaid.
- April 2025: Valadao signed a letter that promised not to support a final version of the Big Beautiful Bill that “includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations.”
- May 2025: Valadao voted to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
- June 2025: Valadao issued a statement saying “I will not support a final bill that eliminates vital funding streams our hospitals rely on” or “threatens the stability of healthcare providers across CA-22.”
- July 2025: Valadao voted for final passage of the Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill was estimated to cut nearly $90 million in hospital revenue in Valadao’s district, including essential funding for a social safety net hospital that received close to three quarters of its patient revenue from Medi-Cal.
- Valadao’s district was expected to see $89,544,211 in cuts to hospital revenue as a result of the Big Beautiful Bill.
- Kern Hospital in Bakersfield, a social safety net hospital in Valadao’s district affected by Medicaid cuts, received 72% of its patient revenue from Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program.
- Medi-Cal paid for nearly half of all hospital services provided at Adventist Health Hanford.
- Valadao had the highest share of constituents reliant upon Medicaid of any member of Congress at 68% enrollment.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill was estimated to kick over 63,000 of Valadao’s constituents off of Medicaid, which included large percentages of children and farmworkers.
- Communities in Valadao’s district expressed concern about hospitals’ resources after he voted for significant federal funding cuts as it became clear how severe the bill’s impact could be on the district.
- July 2025: Kern local officials noted the county’s public health services were already being affected by the loss in federal funding.
- Valadao faced significant backlash for his vote on the Big Beautiful Bill as his constituents made clear their vehement opposition the bill’s Medi-Cal cuts.
- KVPR: “Valley Medicaid recipients, providers face ‘worst case scenario’ with one Big Beautiful Bill passage.”
- KQED: “Few places in California will feel the squeeze of recently approved federal cuts to SNAP and Medicaid — the nation’s low-income healthcare program — more than Bakersfield and its surrounding communities.”
- KVPR: “Valley hospitals, clinics brace for financial ‘tsunami’ threatening health care access”
David Valadao Voted For The One Big Beautiful Bill, Which Let ACA Tax Credits Expire, Resulting In Higher Health Care Costs, Individuals Priced Out Of Coverage, And Enrollees Cutting Back On Essentials To Afford Care
5 findings
- The One Big Beautiful Bill let the ACA tax credits expire, driving up health care costs for more than 23,000 individuals in CA-22 on marketplace plans, which resulted in higher monthly payments or individuals foregoing coverage entirely while cutting back on essentials like food.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill made health care more expensive for 23,538 CA-22 residents that got coverage from ACA marketplace plans.
- 60-year-old couples making $82,000 in CA-22 were expected to see an increase of 265% in out-of-pocket monthly payments when the aca tax credits expired.
- 2026: Statewide coverage from ACA tax credits dropped 32% from 2025, with nearly 400,000 policyholders expected to be priced out of their care, and leading to “tens of thousands of middle-class Californians” facing steep increases to health insurance costs.
- 2026: In a survey of ACA marketplace enrollees, more than half of respondents reported cutting back on food, clothing, or basic household items to afford health care.
David Valadao Voted For The One Big Beautiful Bill Which Was Expected To Raise The National Debt By $3.4 Trillion, And Make It Harder For Californians To Pay For Basic Needs Including Health Care And Housing, Yet David Valadao Has A History Of Advocating To Reduce The National Debt
3 findings
- Valadao voted twice for the One Big Beautiful Bill.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill was expected to raise the national debt by $3.4 trillion, meaning less funding available to invest in safety net programs and higher rates for housing and education.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill was estimated to add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over a decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
- A higher national debt meant lower investments in health care and retirement as well as higher rates for mortgages and education, among other impacts, according to experts.
- Valadao’s vote to increase the national debt stood in stark contrast to his past statements on reducing the national debt earlier in his career, including highlighting his commitment to “responsible spending reductions to tackle our national debt” on his campaign website.
- Valadao’s campaign website touted his commitment to a balanced budget and contended “responsible spending reductions to tackle our national debt” would “strengthen the U.S. economy.”
- 2023: Valadao said the national debt was “not sustainable” and to “stop burdening our kids and grandkids with trillions of dollars in debt.”
David Valadao’s Vote For The One Big Beautiful Bill Threatened Food Assistance For A Quarter Of The Households In His District, Which He Called “Reasonable,” And Gave Billions In Tax Breaks To Billionaires
2 findings
- The One Big Beautiful Bill enacted the largest SNAP cuts in history, threatening food assistance for more than 60,000 households in CA-22, or one in four families, which he defended as “reasonable.”
- Center for American Progress: the One Big Beautiful Bill enacted the largest SNAP cuts in the program’s history.
- The One Big Beautiful Bull risked food assistance for over 60,000 households in CA-22.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill’s biggest tax cuts benefited the wealthiest giving them tax cuts three times greater than for working Americans.
- Valadao said “H.R. 1 makes reasonable but important reforms to SNAP.”
- The One Big Beautiful Bill gave billions in tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy at the expense of working families.
David Valadao’s Vote For The One Big Beautiful Bill Threatened Billions In Clean Energy Investments In His District, After Repeatedly Promising Not To Vote For The Bill If It Made Those Cuts
3 findings
- The One Big Beautiful Bill gutted clean energy tax credits, threatening $2.9 billion in clean energy investments in CA-22, potentially risking millions in household income, and raising energy costs for California households by $320.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill gutted clean energy tax credits.
- The Atlantic: Future clean energy projects would cost about 50% more than those that received tax credits.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill threatened $2.9 billion in pending clean energy investments in CA-22.
- American Clean Power estimated Valadao’s district could see an increase of over $962 million in household income over about a decade if IRA provisions were left as-is.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill was estimated to raise energy costs for California residents by $320 per year on average.
- Clean Energy Buyers Association: The One Big Beautiful Bill’s cuts to clean energy tax credits would increase energy costs for Californians by 14.4% as less power was added to the grid.
- Both before and after voting for the One Big Beautiful Bill, Valadao signed onto missives seeking to dissuade Republicans from phasing out energy tax credits created under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
- June 2025: After voting for the One Big Beautiful Bill, Valadao signed a GOP-led letter to Republican Senate leadership, calling on them to save clean energy tax provisions in the GOP reconciliation bill and “mitigate” the bill’s threats to clean energy.
- May 2025: Valadao signed a GOP letter specifically asking to retain clean energy tax credits and cited estimates of a 10% increase in costs if they were repealed.
- March 2025: Valadao signed a Republican-led letter to the House Ways and Means Committee in opposition to cutting clean energy tax credits.
- August 2024: Valadao a letter to Speaker Johnson asking him not to target clean energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act should the GOP maintain control of the House in the following Congress.
- The Trump administration made additional cuts to clean energy programs, including nearly $4 million in projects in CA-22.
David Valadao Voted 32 Times To Cripple, Defund, Or Change the Affordable Care Act, Including 11 Votes To Repeal The ACA
8 findings
- Valadao voted for beginning the process of repealing the Affordable Care Act.
- Valadao voted two times to defund the Affordable Care Act or major provisions of the bill.
- Valadao voted eight times to delay key provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
- Valadao voted four times on repealing parts of the Affordable Care Act.
- Valadao voted seven times to change the Affordable Care Act.
- Valadao voted two times to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act.
- Valadao voted five times for Republican budget resolutions that fully repealed the Affordable Care Act.
- Valadao voted for repealing major pillars of Affordable Care Act, including the individual mandate.
David Valadao Supported Policies That Made Costs Go Up, Including His Support For Tariffs And His Dismissal Of The Impacts Of The Iran War, Costing Families More On Essentials And Hurting Small Businesses
3 findings
- Valadao voted nine times to protect reckless tariffs, which were one the largest tax increases in the country’s history and were estimated to cost Americans thousands of dollars.
- Valadao voted nine times to protect tariffs.
- 2025: Tariffs were one of the largest tax increases in the country’s history.
- 2026: Tariffs were estimated to cost American families thousands per year.
- Consumers shouldered the burden of tariffs as they raised the price of basic goods like food and clothing.
- Valadao voted to continue the Iran war and downplayed concerns about the Iran war spiking fuel costs.
- Valadao voted to continue Trump’s military actions in Iran.
- February 2026: Valadao voiced support for the Trump administration’s military actions in Iran: “I commend President Trump for taking decisive action.”
- March 2026: Valadao: “To pretend that Iran is the first reason why fuel prices are going up is false.”
- March 2026: Valadao said military action came with financial costs.
- Both tariffs and the Iran war were hurting small businesses in California.
David Valadao Voiced Support For Some Of The Trump Administration’s Most Controversial Immigration Policies And Actions
2 findings
- Valadao said he supported “making some changes” to birthright citizenship, falling in line with the unpopular position of the Trump administration.
- Valadao defended ICE’s killing of Renee Good, saying “That lady should have stopped when they're asking her to stop,” after ICE raids hampered the Central Valley’s workforce and in Kern County appeared to be used as ICE’s “blueprint.”
- Valadao avoided commenting on Alex Pretti’s death at the hands of ICE agents.
- Studies showed California’s workforce suffered as a result of ICE raids.
- January 2025: Border Patrol conducted raids in Kern County, in which case they often did not identify themselves or present warrants, that were reported to “be seen as a blueprint for the broader immigration crackdown that was to come.”
David Valadao Defended DOGE’s Cuts And Downplayed Its Negative Effects, Which Took Away More Than $12 Million From His District, While Various Mutual Aid Organizations In The District Criticized The Cuts And Their Impact On Vulnerable Populations
6 findings
- Valadao defended DOGE cuts, stating some of the cuts were to “departments that needed to go anyways.”
- Valadao said DOGE was working to make the government as efficient as possible and had been more effective than past congressional efforts.
- Valadao downplayed the impact of DOGE’s cuts, stating that they got activists “fired up” but ultimately did not lead to the shutting down of departments.
- According to the Center for American Progress, DOGE enacted cuts which took away more than $12 million from Valadao’s district.
- A food bank in Kern lost millions of dollars due to cuts to the department of agriculture, leading to increased food insecurity in Valadao’s district.
- A local salvation army said the federal government had put “in limbo” a program which helped the organization aid 35 households with rent or mortgage assistance last year.
David Valadao Campaigned On Being “Bipartisan” And “Independent” But Voted With Trump 98% Of The Time In 2025
1 finding
- Valadao claimed to be a bipartisan and independent lawmaker, but he has voted with Trump 98% of the time in 2025, including for the Big Beautiful Bill after promising not to support it because of its cuts to Medicaid.
- 2025: Valadao voted with Trump 98% of the time, according to the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
- 2025: Valadao voted twice for the Big Beautiful Bill, despite promising not to because of the cuts the legislation made to Medicaid.
- 2024: Valadao’s campaign said he had “ignored partisan bickering” and emphasized his willingness to reach across the aisle.
- 2024: Valadao called himself a “bipartisan problem solver” while soliciting campaign donations.
- 2023: Valadao said “we have to work across the aisle to get things done for the good of our constituents and for the good of our country.”
- 2021: Valadao said “working across the aisle” had “always been a priority” for him.
- 2020: Valadao’s campaign emphasized his “long history of bipartisan and independent leadership” in its first campaign ad of the cycle.
- 2020: Valadao said “time and time again,” he “reached across the aisle and worked to find solutions” while in Congress.
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