Myth of the Week: Does Wittman save you money?
If you're already very wealthy, yes... at the expense of your neighbors. Otherwise, no.
Welcome to Myth of the Week, where we address some of the most-repeated myths about Rob Wittman’s work as our VA-01 Congressional representative.
MYTH:
Wittman saves me money / I pay less in taxes with Wittman in office.
REALITY:
Very wealthy people will save a lot of money because of tax cuts. 90% of us will be worse off; any savings are offset by other exploding expenses.
Wittman has claimed he saves his constituents money. Is that true? Let’s follow the money!
If you’re one of the top 10% of wealthy people in Virginia, you might think Rob Wittman is doing a solid job for you because H.R. 1 secured you $13,600 in savings. But if you’re not in the top 10%, Wittman isn’t saving you anything. A tax cut may look like good news for you, but when you consider costs from tariffs, health insurance, fewer jobs, and higher state taxes (a likely consequence of H.R. 1’s cuts to Medicaid and SNAP), all of a sudden you’re losing money.
“Meaningful wins”... for the wealthy
Wittman claimed to have scored “meaningful wins” for Virginians in 2025, but our breakdown tells the real story. He claims his office fields daily calls from families struggling to afford the basics, but he offers no concrete legislative solutions to help them pay for utilities and groceries. Contrast Wittman’s inaction with state senator Danica Roem’s bill to provide free breakfast to all public school students.
As we’ve previously reported, Wittman voted to eliminate 11,000 Virginia jobs. As if facilitating catastrophic job losses weren’t enough, he refers to H.R. 1 as “the Working Families Tax Cut” — while its primary function is to secure massive gains for the ultra-wealthy. Wittman has spent more time gaslighting us than decreasing the cost of living in Virginia.
In 2025, Trump’s tariffs cost the average Virginia household approximately $1,700-$2,100.
In 2025, Trump’s tariffs cost the average Virginia household approximately $1,700-$2,100. That includes increased costs for basic needs like clothing and cars. Wittman did nothing to stop these reckless tariffs from wrecking families’ budgets.
Meanwhile, rising food costs have forced nearly half of Virginians into debt. Many also suffer from volatile energy prices. Energy bills are soaring because Wittman voted to end green energy credits. He may have voted to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime pay (for a limited time), but then he sabotaged that gain by voting to let the Child Tax Credits and State & Local Taxes (SALT) caps expire.
It gets worse. Wittman once insisted that the federal government must “[spend] taxpayer dollars wisely.” But analysis reveals that DOGE cuts to the federal workforce cost taxpayers $10 billion. The government literally paid federal workers to sit at home instead of doing their jobs — a classic case of Wittman saying one thing and doing another.
H.R. 1 will increase the national debt by $3.4 TRILLION. Wittman claims he’s a “fiscal conservative,” which sounds great. Turns out that he means you and your kids should shoulder that huge debt and your household should suffer, while he quietly transfers your tax dollars to the wealthy.
Household budgets exploded by healthcare costs
Wittman and Trump promised to make America more affordable. Healthcare premiums for everyone have skyrocketed as a direct result of H.R. 1’s cuts to Medicaid and the administration’s failure to extend ACA subsidies. The bottom line? Virginians’ healthcare costs are now 140% higher than in 2025. Wittman didn’t protect us from this. Instead, he helped make it happen.
It’s true that Wittman voted to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies in January 2026, but context matters. First he voted against advancing the measure, and then only voted for the bill because he knew it would die in the Senate.
Second, Wittman’s statement about his vote contradicts his prior messaging against the subsidies. Was Wittman’s vote to extend the ACA subsidies genuine? Or was it performative politics, given the upcoming midterm election? His prior record and statements certainly suggest the latter.
And if our healthcare system is “too expensive,” as he claimed, why isn’t he advocating for universal healthcare or stronger oversight of health insurance companies? Why isn’t he drafting legislation to make billionaires pay their fair share of taxes, a measure that would address America’s wealth inequality and fund the healthcare that he knows we need?
Wittman is not saving us money, but he’s making plenty for himself and his donors
Rob Wittman’s voting record shows he’s earmarking tax dollars for anything but our pockets — at a time when people across the Commonwealth are going hungry, suffering job loss, losing their housing, and having trouble making ends meet. Meanwhile, Wittman himself may get up to $59,300 in savings from the bill for which he voted.
If VA-01 constituents were saving so much money thanks to Wittman, we’d be shouting about it from the rooftops. Instead, most of us are tightening our belts while he’s busy counting his $5.6 million net worth.
The tax cuts Wittman trumpets are not real for 90% of us, while the costs of groceries, cars, equipment, housing, childcare, and almost everything else continue to spiral upwards. That’s not a good deal.
What should Congressman Wittman do to actually save you money? Let us know what you think by posting comments here or on any of our social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, or Reddit.