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John,
As early as tomorrow, the Republican-led House of Representatives plans to vote on a massive bill that will hurt millions of American children and their families—all so the rich can become even richer with permanent tax breaks for corporations and billionaires. While the bill cuts billions from Medicaid in order to pay for these tax cuts, President Donald Trump told House Republicans they should pass the bill and not touch Medicaid. It’s like he doesn’t even know what’s in the bill.
The Republican bill slashes healthcare and food assistance (Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP) from families while funneling public funds into private school voucher programs and making it harder for students to afford a college education.
Republicans want to rush the bill through the House so they can run off to their Memorial Day weekend plans; that’s why it’s so important to contact your members of Congress immediately!
Here’s why this bill is such a big deal:
- At least 13.7 million Americans will lose health coverage. Medicaid provides access to healthcare for people with disabilities, retirees, 40 percent of new babies, nearly 1.6 million veterans, more than 2 million military-attached children, low-wage workers, and millions of people on Medicare who get supplemental Medicaid.
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Hospitals will close, nursing homes will shut down and many healthcare workers will lose their jobs. This isn’t an exaggeration; many hospitals—especially rural hospitals—are funded through Medicaid. Without those funds, they will not be able to operate.
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The bill would leave more than 42 million people with no food to put on the table and would take away access to school meals, which kids depend on each day to learn and grow. In total, nearly $300 billion will be cut from SNAP, our nation’s most effective tool to combat hunger.
- The cost of attending college will increase because the bill will leave 5 million students without enough financial aid and will cut access to Pell grants for about 6.6 million students. The bill cuts $330 billion in student financial aid.
- Crucial funds will be diverted away from students in public schools to pay for private school tuition, home-schooling materials and for-profit virtual learning, which primarily benefit wealthy families and do not improve student achievement. This bill will funnel $20 billion into school vouchers.
Our country should be a place where everyone has an opportunity to thrive and where a middle-class job can be a reality, not just an aspiration. But if Republicans succeed in enacting this legislation, it will be a massive windfall for billionaires like Elon Musk while creating little or no benefit for working people, stagnant economic growth, a ballooning deficit or vital public services that have already suffered draconian cuts.
Please send a letter to your members of Congress to tell them we need a tax code where the wealthy pay their fair share, so critical investments in education, healthcare, retirement programs and infrastructure can be made.
The AFT has been fighting back. We’ve sent letters to Congress, connected members with their representatives, held rallies, participated in social media actions and more. We need every person to speak up now.
So, send a letter. Follow up with phone calls. Share this action with your friends and family.
Millions of people are counting on us.Thank you.
In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President
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Randi Weingarten, President
Fedrick Ingram, Secretary-Treasurer
Evelyn DeJesus, Executive Vice President
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