As the party formerly claiming to care about fiscal responsibility prepares to unleash an unprecedented money grab at the expense of millions of Americans, a group of lawmakers isn’t letting the proposed Republican budget pass without a fight. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) co-sponsored a Lobby Day with the advocacy group Color of Change, encouraging people to take action against what she calls “the great Republican rip-off.”
Speaking during a press conference late Tuesday afternoon, Pressley highlighted the impact of proposed cuts to vital programs like SNAP and Medicaid while also calling out Republican cruelty.
“Donald Trump is stealing from the poor, the elderly, the vulnerable, and everyday working families to line his own d*mn pockets,” she said. “They mean to harm our Black and brown communities, who stand to be the most impacted by these devastating cuts.”
Pressley encouraged people to consider the impact of proposed budget cuts on all of our communities, including the most vulnerable among us, a sentiment echoed by many of her colleagues. While the effects and response will vary per state, the damage to Black communities is almost inevitable. Rep. Shontell Brown (D-OH) called the bill “the most deliberately destructive piece of legislation” in decades.
“There’s not a lot of nuance or complication here,” Brown said. “Trump and MAGA extremists in Congress are taking money from our constituents and giving it to their friends and donors.”
Brown expressed concern that Ohio’s Republican-controlled government will end Medicaid expansion in the Buckeye state if proposed federal cuts go through. Accordingly, Brown shared that her state government has already said it will end Medicaid expansion if the cuts are pushed through. She estimated the impact would be the equivalent of an entire congressional district in her state alone.
“This is suffering on a massive scale, and it’s going to hurt people of all backgrounds, but it’s going to be especially destructive in Black and brown communities,” Brown said. “Approximately 38 percent of the people I represent are on Medicaid. Twenty-one percent are on SNAP. Donald Trump has raised prices. He’s defunded their neighborhoods. He’s attacked their relatives who work for the federal government.”
Medicaid is one of several programs that have split funding from state governments and the federal budget, but cutting federal dollars jeopardizes these programs. For its part, Medicaid supports about 83 million people, including children and older adults. An estimated 35 percent of Black people receive Medicaid. Overall, Black people account for one in five people enrolled in Medicaid.
Despite decades of claiming to be the party of so-called fiscal responsibility, Republicans are gearing up to add trillions to the national debt and other costly scenarios. To what end, you may ask? So that Trump and his billionaire friends can get even richer, while making it even harder for Black and other impacted communities to catch up, let alone thrive.
Joining her colleagues on Tuesday, Rep. Summer Lee called out the hypocrisy of Republicans claiming they are putting “America first” and Trump’s so-called “beautiful bill” that is certain to devastate millions.
“In one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we have people experiencing hunger and homelessness who rely on assistance, and rather than provide these folks with fair wages and affordable housing, Republicans are cutting the very benefits and social services in favor of these oligarchs,” Lee said. “They’re cutting people out of jobs, cutting their access to higher education. The reality is, these oligarchs who bought their way into the Oval Office have already taken so much from working families.”
Lee also called for a renewed need to get money and corporate interests out of politics.
“This is now about who has power and who they are willing to hurt to keep it,” she continued. “And it’s working families and the disenfranchised, Black and brown communities that get hit the hardest every time.”
Portia Allen-Kyle, interim executive director of Color of Change, made it clear that the proposed cuts are part of a broader neo-segregationist agenda.
“We’re here to remind people that our families are not just a line item,” Allen-Kyle said during Tuesday’s press conference. “We are not just a line on a bill. Our families are the nurses, … the teachers … the students, and parents who are the backbones of our community. … it’s time to cut the greed, not the people.”
Over the past four months, the team at Color of Change has driven over 10,000 member actions, including calls, emails, and petition signatures to Members of Congress. Color of Change has spent the past two years working on a comprehensive campaign to inform members about the impact of tax policy and the federal budget on Black communities.
“The power we are building is to protect the needs of Black communities, while the current administration sacrifices our children and grandparents to help billionaires become trillionaires,” Allen-Kyles said in a statement shared with NewsOne “We will remind those in power that our families are more than a line item and remind them that they need to cut the greed, not the people.”
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