Congresswoman April McClain Delaney Condemns Cuts to Working- and Middle-Class Families

Congresswoman April McClain Delaney Condemns Cuts to Working- and Middle-Class Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman April McClain Delaney (D-MD) released a statement on the House Majority's budget reconciliation package:

"Today, Leader Jeffries made history with his record-setting speech of nearly 9 hours. As we all heard, he shared the innumerable ways that H.R. 1 will harm my constituents and all Americans. I am outraged by the passage of the House Majority's reconciliation package-a devastating proposal that will unleash a tsunami of cuts on working- and middle-class families, children and especially those in rural communities.

This bill includes the largest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in our nation's history. In Maryland's 6th District, 1 in 9 families rely on SNAP to put food on the table, and nearly 1 in 7 Marylanders-including 1 in 3 children-depend on Medicaid for healthcare. This legislation also guts the Child Tax Credit by making 1 in 4 children in our district ineligible for the full benefit-pushing more families into poverty at a time when we should be working urgently to make life more affordable.

I submitted amendments to lessen the impact of SNAP cuts on families and to limit the bill's negative effects on the national deficit-but the Majority summarily rejected them.

Under this bill, 32,000 people in our district are projected to lose coverage under Medicaid and CHIP over the next decade. I've visited hospitals and health care centers across Western Maryland that depend on Medicaid patients, including Family Healthcare of Hagerstown. Caregivers rely on those funds to keep clinics open, and patients rely on those hospitals for care unavailable elsewhere. Slashing Medicaid jeopardizes both. Rural hospitals will lose 21 cents of every Medicaid dollar received-accelerating closures, stripping away critical services like obstetrics and devastating communities where hospitals are major employers.

The reality is that cutting these programs is not sound fiscal policy. Without preventive care, emergency visits rise. When kids go hungry, their futures-and our economy-suffer. These cuts will increase costs and balloon the debt by $3.8 trillion, hamstringing investments in infrastructure, education and job growth for American workers and their families. It did not have to be this way, and our country deserves so much better.

I had hoped that my colleagues would have rejected this harmful package and instead fought for policies that protect families, strengthen communities and put people first. That's what I'll continue fighting for in Maryland's 6th District. To quote Leader Jeffries, together, we will 'press on' to advocate for fiscally sound, equitable, and just policies."