{"id":503061,"date":"2026-10-21T06:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T06:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/503061\/"},"modified":"2026-10-21T06:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T06:02:10","slug":"villegas-advocates-slam-valadao-voting-record-at-bakersfield-health-care-roundtable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/503061\/","title":{"rendered":"Villegas, advocates slam Valadao voting record at Bakersfield health care roundtable"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 Healthcare affordability and reproductive rights took center stage at a roundtable in Bakersfield on Tuesday, as Democratic congressional candidate Randy Villegas and representatives from two national advocacy groups criticized Republican Rep. David Valadao\u2019s voting record and argued that federal policy decisions can directly affect Central Valley families.<\/p>\n

\"{p}Democratic<\/p>\n

Democratic congressional candidate Randy Villegas and representatives from two national advocacy groups gathered for a roundtable on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

KBAK\/KBFX<\/p>\n

Villegas, who is running in California\u2019s 22nd Congressional District, said Valadao\u2019s support for a federal budget bill could harm families who rely on public assistance programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to rip away billions of dollars from programs like Medicaid, SNAP and WIC to go give 1.1 trillion dollars in tax cuts to the wealthiest people in this country,\u201d Villegas said.<\/p>\n

Valadao has defended his vote, saying the bill preserved Medicaid for eligible groups and included additional funding for rural healthcare.<\/p>\n

Villegas also raised concerns about healthcare access in the Central Valley, saying some residents travel to Tijuana for cheaper prescription drugs, healthcare and dental care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat shouldn\u2019t be happening in the richest country in the history of the world,\u201d Villegas said.<\/p>\n

Reproductive rights were another focus of the discussion as part of Villegas\u2019 broader healthcare plan. Villegas criticized Valadao\u2019s record on abortion and argued that people should be able to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions. He also said families need more support when they decide to have children.<\/p>\n

Villegas\u2019 proposals include expanding the child tax credit, universal childcare and access to in vitro fertilization, also known as IVF.<\/p>\n

\"{p}Democratic<\/p>\n

Democratic congressional candidate Randy Villegas and representatives from two national advocacy groups gathered for a roundtable on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

KBAK\/KBFX<\/p>\n

Representatives from Reproductive Freedom for All and End Citizens United argued that healthcare, reproductive rights and other policy debates are tied to the broader health of American democracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe contrast between myself and David Valadeo in healthcare couldn\u2019t be clear. David Valadeo was a decisive vote on the big BS bill,\u201d Villegas said.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Valadao\u2019s campaign pushed back on the criticism, saying in part, \u201cValley families want affordable healthcare, more good-paying jobs, and reliable water supplies. That\u2019s why David Valadao\u2019s focus has always been on delivering practical solutions, not pushing a far-left agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

The roundtable also addressed the role of money in politics. Advocacy representatives connected campaign financing to voters\u2019 ability to make their voices heard, raising concerns about dark money in elections, redistricting and threats involving ballot boxes, which they described as part of a broader effort to undermine voters\u2019 power.<\/p>\n

\"{p}Democratic<\/p>\n

Democratic congressional candidate Randy Villegas and representatives from two national advocacy groups gathered for a roundtable on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

KBAK\/KBFX<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are all attacks on our voice and our power. And it is an effort systematically to silence us, right?\u201d one speaker said.<\/p>\n

Voters will decide Nov. 3 who will represent them in Congress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 Healthcare affordability and reproductive rights took center stage at a roundtable in Bakersfield on Tuesday,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-503061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}