In Blog: Factually Speaking

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This past month saw two disastrous pieces of public policy come out of Washington: the American Health Care Act (AHCA) passed by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and President Donald Trump’s federal budget proposal.
We provide a more substantive update on the AHCA below, but here’s what you really need to know: It raises costs, reduces coverage and slashes funding for states. In short, it’s bad, and we’re hopeful that leveler heads in the U.S. Senate will agree.
But that was just the appetizer. On May 23rd, President Trump released his budget proposal, and it is an all-out assault on people who are struggling in our state and our nation. We were expecting significant cuts to vital programs based on the president’s “skinny budget,” but it is far worse than anyone could imagine.
If the president is looking to make history and leave his mark, this awful budget will certainly do that. Our colleagues at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities say that his budget “contains the largest dollar cuts to programs for low- and moderate-income people proposed by any president’s budget in the modern era,” cutting these programs by an estimated $2.5 trillion over the next decade. About 59% of the president’s budget cuts would come from programs and services that help struggling families build a better life and keep food on their tables, clothes on their backs and a roof over their heads.
Food assistance through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would be slashed by $193 billion over 10 years, targeting the elderly, working families and workers struggling to find a job. On top of the massive cuts to Medicaid in the House-passed AHCA, Medicaid would be cut by an additional $600 billion over 10 years. Possible per capita caps on Medicaid would make it even worse.
People who are struggling economically are not the only vulnerable residents who are being exploited by this budget. Disability programs would be cut by $72 billion, including Social Security Disability Insurance for workers with disabilities and their families and Supplemental Security Income, which provides income assistance to individuals with low incomes, including children, with disabilities.
There are also significant cuts to Great Lakes funding, other protections for our air, land and water, and other programs that are essential to our quality of life and our way of life in Michigan.
As our recent 2017 Kids Count in Michigan Data Book and Making Ends Meet report show, millions of people and kids in Michigan are either living in poverty or barely getting by. Many families have yet to feel any economic recovery and are one emergency or unexpected expense away from financial disaster. More people are working, but in lower-paying jobs, and they depend on food assistance, Medicaid and other programs to survive—programs that would be decimated under President Trump’s budget. Michigan is particularly vulnerable to President Trump’s budget cuts, as we’re the second most reliant on federal funds of any state in the nation.
Our congressional delegation must oppose this budget and any others that follow in this same direction of harming our state’s most vulnerable residents, especially our children. They need to hear from the people that these appalling cuts will hurt and put names and faces to the lives that hang in the balance. If you or someone you know depends on food assistance, Medicaid, disability services or other federal programs, I urge everyone to share their story at Handsoff.org. And whether you use these programs yourself or just know that they are vital to a better Michigan for all, I encourage you to contact your congressperson directly and tell them to oppose the Trump budget or any other proposal that includes massive cuts to these programs.

— Gilda Z. Jacobs

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