In case you missed it, Nick Begich cast the deciding vote on House Republicans’ Tax Scam last week – putting tens of thousands of his constituents at risk of losing their health care and threatening food access for over 27,000 Alaskan households – all to give permanent tax breaks to the wealthy.
Whether it’s rising costs, limited access to services, or the difficulty of finding consistent work in urban and rural areas, so many are doing everything right and still struggling to make ends meet. That’s why I‘m deeply concerned about the reconciliation bill…which would make deep cuts to programs like SNAP and Medicaid — programs that are lifelines for thousands of Alaskans.
For so many Alaskans, SNAP is the difference between feeding your kids or going to bed hungry. If the bill passes in its current form, 6,000 adults in Alaska could lose access to SNAP, and another 14,000 people in households with school-age children could see their SNAP benefits reduced.
These aren’t hypotheticals. They’re our neighbors, our students, our church members.
As a pastor and a Christian, I believe it’s our mission to care for the hungry and the sick. But this bill does the opposite. It not only cuts food assistance, it also makes it harder to access Medicaid.
Instead of supporting families, the bill recently passed in the House risks pushing them further into hunger, instability and poor health.
I urge Rep. Nick Begich to push instead for a tax plan that puts working families first, especially those living paycheck to paycheck…That’s what pro-family policy looks like. And that’s what Alaska needs right now.
In a time when many Americans struggle or are unable to pay for health care, and medical bills are a leading cause of homelessness, a bill that makes health care unattainable for millions can only be described as cruel.
Medicaid and SNAP are both disproportionately relied on by women and children, and both cuts will devastate the poor and cause millions to suffer…
These cruelties, and many others, add up to an intentional attack on the hungry, the sick, those in need, and everyone that we are taught to care for…This cruelty is a central pillar of the Trump agenda, and Begich is gleefully inflicting the harm.
While this bill spits on the poor, it simultaneously cuts taxes on the very wealthy… This all demonstrates who Trump’s party really cares about: the already-wealthy who can line their pockets at the expense of the most vulnerable.
We are left with Begich’s cruel decision to trap children in hunger and lock the poor in illness while flaunting a million-dollar dinner.
