More than 50 social service groups are calling on South Carolina’s U.S. senators and members of Congress to reject House G.O.P.-proposed cuts to federal health care and food assistance programs.
In a letter addressed to the state’s nine federal lawmakers and released Feb. 19, groups including the Trident United Way, the S.C. Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center urged members to protect both programs.
“We, the undersigned organizations, are writing to respectfully request that Congress protect South Carolinians by ensuring access to food and health programs that serve the people of our state,” the letter reads. “These programs support seniors, children and their families and those with disabilities.”
In an accompanying release, S.C. Appleseed executive director Bridget Brown said the cuts would do “long-lasting and devastating” harm to Palmetto State residents.
“These proposed cuts are rushed and do not weigh the immediate effects that they would have on our community,” Brown said. “They would immediately impact access to healthcare to those who need it most – this includes seniors, children, low income families, and people with disabilities.”
According to the groups, the proposed reductions would eliminate more than a third of Medicaid funding over the next decade, putting 1.2 million South Carolinians at risk of losing access to health care.
“Reducing Medicaid funding would not only hurt the individuals who rely on it, but it would also have widespread consequences for our entire state budget and economy,” said SC Appleseed director of policy, Sue Berkowitz.
The letter goes on to note that proposed cuts to the SNAP food assistance program would affect more than half a million South Carolinians while potentially harming the state’s economy.
“Almost 600,000 people in our state depend on this program, with the majority of beneficiaries being seniors (35%), families with children (68%), and working families (33%),” the letter states. “For every dollar spent, SNAP generates about one dollar and fifty cents of economic revenue, with locally purchased food at 5,200 authorized retail locations in South Carolina.”
In Washington, two S.C. delegation members are seen as critical to the coming budget process, where the fate of the proposed cuts will be determined. On the U.S. Senate side, Sen. Lindsey Graham is pushing for a slimmed-down bill focused on border security and defense spending. Meanwhile in the House, hardline conservative Budget Committee member Rep. Ralph Norman is calling for $2 trillion in cuts, with a particular focus on Medicaid.
“Medicaid’s got to be in it,” Norman told reporters this week. “You don’t get to the [$1.5 trillion figure], much less two, without it.”
Next week in the Statehouse
The S.C. House and Senate are expected to reconvene at noon Feb. 25. Committees are currently scheduled to meet on Feb. 26 and 27. Highlights include a Senate Education Committee meeting to consider the creation of a pilot program allowing school districts to hire non-certified teachers and a Legislative Oversight Committee hearing on the Department on Aging.
- A complete listing of streamable committee meetings is available on the Statehouse website at scstatehouse.gov/video/schedule.php.
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