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On Medicaid or food stamps? Both of these programs are slated to be cut heavily if the Republican budget legislation is enacted. It has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives and will now be debated in the Senate. It will affect children, lower-income people, the elderly and the disabled.
USA Today reports: “If the bill becomes law, more than 7 million people will lose Medicaid coverage, according to the Congressional Budget Office.”
CNN reports: “‘For lower income people, what they are losing in Medicaid, Affordable Care Act premium support and food stamps more than dominates any type of benefits from taxes on tips and other tax cuts,’ said Kent Smetters, faculty director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model. ‘And they’re not going to make it back through economic growth.’”
Many experts agree that some form of this legislation is expected to pass both chambers of Congress and become law. If you are against these cuts, the best way to affect their passage is to notify your U.S. senator by telephone or email. Here is their contact information: www.collins.senate.gov/contact/email-senator-collins and www.king.senate.gov/contact.
Bob Rossow
East Machias