April 16, 2025

Our efforts continue to be focused on ensuring you have the resources you need to make the best use of your time in those moments when you/your staff can take a moment to weigh in with your elected leaders.  We will continue to share possibilities for how you can join the voices of millions of Americans calling on Congress to do what is best for average Americans. You can choose your preferred method of attack.  Just keep doing your thing!!

FEDERAL ADVOCACY TO PROTECT MEDICAID:

Last Thursday, every single Republican in New York’s Congressional delegation voted for a federal budget that sets us on a path to slash $1.5 trillion from essential programs—Medicaid, SNAP, housing, and more—to make Trump’s billionaire tax breaks permanent.  In summary, the Senate passed its version of the budget blueprint, which details different reconciliation instructions for the House and Senate committees. The new budget plan combines the House GOP’s original framework of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts with the bare-bones Senate plan, which guarantees only $4 billion in spending cut targets and more room for tax cuts that aren’t fully paid for.

Now, Senate and House Republicans need to identify and negotiate their proposed cuts. They must determine how to meet conservatives’ demands for deep spending cuts while retaining moderates’ support, even as potential benefit cuts cause heartburn. Although the House approved the Senate resolution text with a vote of 216-214 last Thursday, two Republicans (Reps. Victoria Spartz and Thomas Massie) voted no. To move forward, Republicans must conference and vote again on a budget reconciliation package.

Congress is away for their two-week April recess this week, and will not return until Monday, April 28. These next two weeks are CRUCIAL in our advocacy efforts to protect and defend Medicaid from these potentially disastrous cuts. May 9 has been set as the target date for committees to finish their markups, with the House Energy and Commerce Committee potentially meeting as early as May 5 to begin its work. 

REMINDER!  Medicaid Matters New York has produced a series of 26 Medicaid Fact Sheets (by Congressional district) to highlight the importance of Medicaid to New Yorkers and the impact cuts would have in each district.

• Find your district’s fact sheet to share with community members and your Representative.
• Fill out this form to send a message to your member of Congress and our U.S. Senators to remind them that Medicaid matters to New Yorkers.  Here’s an easy message you can copy and paste into the form that allows you to send a message to your representative quickly:

Medicaid is a lifeline for millions of Americans. Proposed Congressional cuts to Medicaid would hurt vulnerable communities, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities. 

Supporting Points:

• Medicaid provides healthcare for 1 in 5 Americans, including seniors, people with disabilities, children, and low-income adults.
• Medicaid funding cuts would disproportionately affect communities of color, rural areas, and low-income families.
• In New York, 33% (2.4 million) of children under 19 rely on Medicaid to partially or fully cover their health insurance needs and about 37% (468,000) of households with children rely on SNAP.
• Leaders in Congress are going too far, too fast. Recklessly cutting billions from Medicaid will terminate health care for millions of people. The crisis that would result from the proposed cuts to Medicaid will have disastrous impacts. I urge you to protect Medicaid at all costs.

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STATE BUDGET

Take a moment to contact your state representatives to weigh in in support of investment in outpatient services for children, youth and families across New York.  Here’s a link to the campaign page.  Please note:  The NYS Council recently joined with several other members of the HealthyMinds, HealthyKids campaign to purchase an ad urging lawmakers to invest in these critical services.  The ad is currently running on the front page of the Empire Report.
Take a moment to weigh in with lawmakers:https://healthymindshealthykids.org/take-action/.

Check out the ads on Empire Report!  (Note: Ads on the Empire Report front page rotate on and off so if at first you don’t see it, refresh and re-visit the page or stay on it until it refreshes automatically.)  https://empirereportnewyork.com/