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Vulnerable Arizona Republicans David Schweikert, Eli Crane, and Juan Ciscomanin can’t escape the bad headlines ever since they backed legislation to fund permanent tax cuts for billionaires by kicking thousands of their own constituents off Medicaid and food assistance.
In case you missed it…
Copper Courier: Arizona Republicans vote to take healthcare, food aid away from constituents
- The so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” cuts Medicaid by at least $698 billion, putting hundreds of thousands of Arizonans at risk of losing their health care, and makes another $300 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Roughly 1 million Arizonans rely on SNAP to put food on the table, and many of them could lose their benefits under the budget.
- The bill will primarily benefit the wealthiest of households while taking resources away from lower-income households.
- Schweikert, whose district includes Scottsdale and other parts of northeastern Maricopa County, faced pressure from his constituents to vote no on the bill, but was ultimately unmoved by their pleas.
- Republican Juan Ciscomani of Tucson … also supported the legislation, voting to pass it even as it is estimated to throw over 28,000 people in his district off Medicaid.
- Rep. Eli Crane, who represents the Navajo Nation, voted for the cuts which would leave 41,000 of his constituents at risk of losing their coverage.
- Two counties Crane represents, Apache County and Navajo County, have among the highest county-level share of seniors on Medicaid in the US, meaning they could be hit particularly hard by the bill’s cuts. The cuts to Medicaid could also have devastating effects on rural hospitals, which often depend on Medicaid funding to continue operations.
- Schweikert, Ciscomani, and Crane all represent swing districts. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee lists all three as “districts in play” — those with the highest chances of flipping blue in the next election cycle.
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