June 25, 2025
Dear editor;
There are 16,600 additional, preventable deaths which could happen each year because of the Republican House budget proposal, according to an analysis by researchers in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The Senate version could make this even worse!
Encouraged by Donald Trump, $1 trillion of SNAP (food stamp) assistance and Medicaid including rural hospital support would be slashed, affecting 80,000,000 poor families, seniors, veterans and disabled. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates this could strip health coverage from 7.6 million and SNAP from 3 million Americans.
Republicans are rushing this budget through before the public knows the details. Polls averaged from Fox News, Washington Post, Quinnipiac University and KFF show when people are aware, 55% oppose it and only 31% support it.
Additional things eliminated are:
•LIHEAP, providing the poor with heat in winter.
•Burn pit and Agent Orange veterans’ benefits.
•988 toll-free national suicide hotline
•Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, which investigates chemical disasters, fires and explosions
•SBA’s SCORE, and Women’s Business Centers, which help start-ups and existing small businesses, the top drivers of job creation.
The Senate has passed the legislation, but you can still make your voice heard. Democrats are united against these cuts. A few Republican Senators are sensitive to Medicaid and SNAP issues, so phone Senators Jerry Moran of Kansas at 202-224-6521, Lisa Murkowski, Alaska 202-224-6665, Susan Collins, Maine 202-224-2523, Josh Hawley, Missouri 202-224-6154 and Mitch McConnell, Kentucky 202-224-2541. Tell them the pain their constituents can expect. Unable to reach a person? Leave a voicemail, as these are tallied. Tell a friend!
Albert “Bo” Smith, Geneva