June 10, 2025

As the Senate considers changes to the House-passed reconciliation bill this week, the message from the public is unmistakable: stop the cuts, tax the rich.

Every cut to Medicaid and SNAP in the House bill could be avoided by letting the Trump tax breaks for billionaires expire. Instead, House leaders pushed a plan that hurts families, squeezes state budgets, adds to the deficit, and slows the economy—all to pad the pocketbooks of the wealthy.

Now it’s the Senate’s turn to fix it. Across red and blue states, constituents are calling on their Senators to put working families and local economies first.

Here are some of their words of wisdom:

VIEW FROM THE STATES

NEBRASKA: Lincoln Daily Journal - Letter: An easy way to address the deficit

It amazes me, with the supposed concerns voiced by Senate Republicans over Trump’s "big, beautiful bill" because it would increase our deficit by several trillion and/or the cuts to Medicaid, no one has suggested eliminating the tax cuts for the rich!

Eliminating the tax cuts for the Musks and Bezos of this world — who surely don’t need them — would actually address the deficit while continuing spending on Medicaid and other crucial programs that benefit us all!

NORTH CAROLINA: NC Newsline - NC pediatrician: Senator Tillis must protect Medicaid — and North Carolina families

These cuts would be devastating, especially here in rural communities where fewer employers offer health coverage and hospitals depend heavily on Medicaid reimbursements to keep their doors open.

In rural communities, where jobs often don’t come with benefits, Medicaid fills the gap. If people lose that coverage, they’re not switching to a private plan — they’re going without.

Senator Tillis must understand what’s at stake. These cuts aren’t about reducing waste or balancing the budget. They’re about shifting costs from billionaires to working families. They’re about handing tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy while kids lose their inhalers, seniors lose access to medications, and rural hospitals shut their doors.

The Roanoke Chowan News Herald - Medicaid is a Lifeline for Rural North Carolina

If Medicaid is slashed, hospitals won’t just struggle—they will fail. That means closed doors, lost jobs, and communities left without care.

Cutting Medicaid doesn’t save money—it shifts the cost onto rural families, overburdened ERs, and already-struggling local governments. It’s not reform—it’s abandonment. And let’s call it what it is: a calculated decision by Republican lawmakers to sacrifice the health of our people to cut taxes for billionaires.

SOUTH CAROLINA: The State - Opinion: Sen. Lindsey Graham is hurting the people he’s supposed to represent

Graham, a long-time senator in one of the poorest states in the union, wasn’t lamenting that the people who have kept sending him back to Washington, D.C., to represent their interests would be hurt. He seemed upset not enough of them would be.

Republicans like Graham seem to care more about extending tax cuts that will heavily benefit the rich rather than focusing on the well-being of the vulnerable.

ALASKA: Anchorage Daily News - Opinion: A plea to Alaska’s congressional delegation for responsible economic policy

Taken together, the Trump Administration’s tariffs and tax cuts will cause economic chaos and destruction.

President Trump’s faulty perception of tariff ‘medicine’ to fix bilateral trade deficits and to generate new federal revenue is analogous to a physician prescribing heavy chemo doses to a perfectly healthy patient. Furthermore, giving gigantic tax cuts to the wealthiest households is like to prescribing steroids to the now-ailing patient — due entirely to unnecessary and irresponsible tariff poisoning!

MAINE: Portland Press Herald - Please stop Trump’s big, beautiful — and very bad — bill

MISSOURI: Columbia Missourian - Nonprofit leaders urge Schmitt, Hawley to vote against Medicaid cuts

“I think one of the big misconceptions is that, somehow, everyone will get the care that they need, when we know that there are people who are putting off their treatments ... because they don’t have coverage,” said Emily Kalmer, Missouri government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

“Over 90% of adult Medicaid recipients under 65 who don’t receive Social Security benefits are already working,” said Suzanne King, president and CEO of Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri. “And they need Medicaid because their employers do not offer enough hours for them to purchase insurance or qualify them for employer-sponsored insurance.”

“We rely on Medicaid to keep my daughter at home where she is healthy, happy and safe,” Leader said. “Losing Medicaid would really disrupt our family. We would lose our homes, our vehicles and eventually our daughter.”

“In Missouri, Medicaid is not just a program, it’s a lifeline,” Lucas said.

UTAH: Deseret News - Opinion: Medicaid cuts will harm children and education in Utah

The relation between Medicaid eligibility, educational attainment, future health and economic success creates an inter-related cycle; one that can lead to more successful and healthier Utah families.

In other words, families eligible for Medicaid can care for their children’s health needs and, in turn, these children will have a greater chance of graduating from high school, having higher earnings and being more productive, therefore potentially offsetting the costs of the program.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: In Depth NH - Op-Ed: Who are New Hampshire Republicans: Are they the company they keep?

Ernst’s comments aren’t just offensive — they reveal the cold, hard truth about what’s driving her and her party. This is the face of today’s Republican leadership: flippant about life-or-death consequences and more concerned about protecting billionaire tax breaks than protecting families.

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Contact: Kristin Sosanie (kristin@fairshareusa.org) or Ashley Woolheater (ashley@fairshareusa.org)