The Honorable John Thune Majority Leader 

United States Senate    

   

The Honorable Chuck Schumer 

Minority Leader 

United States Senate

Dear Leader Thune and Leader Schumer, 

As a coalition of State Legislators, we are committed to ensuring our respective states have sufficient revenue in our state budgets to finance healthcare, education, housing, food assistance and critical public infrastructure like schools, roads, and bridges. 

We write today to urge you to reject the massive tax cuts for the wealthy–paid for in part by cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and education–contained in the recently passed House reconciliation bill. The impact of these federal cuts on our state budgets will be dire at a time when the needs of our residents are rising along with the cost of living. 

As representatives of our community members and stewards of our state economies, it is incumbent upon us to ensure that any Federal action taken will not harm our states. However, the reconciliation bill in its current form makes devastating cuts to healthcare and food assistance for millions of people, all to pay for the largest tax breaks for wealthy households in history. The proposed cuts come from forcing families and individuals to bear higher costs and more red tape, and by imposing new costs on our state budgets. This is particularly risky as we face many economic headwinds and an increased risk of recession. Ultimately, forcing states to shoulder new costs without support from the federal government will negatively impact workers and families, veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities across every community in every state.

The cuts to Medicaid would be particularly damaging. The increased red-tape requirements misleadingly labeled “work requirements”–proposed even though almost all Medicaid recipients already work, are in school, are disabled or otherwise cannot work–would have the effect of ending the federal Medicaid eligibility of up to five million people next year alone. That reduced enrollment would lead to some half a trillion dollars in reduced federal funding over 10 years, funding that states who wanted to keep their residents insured would have to make up through higher taxes or cuts to other important public services. Those state budget cuts could include reducing money-saving Medicaid administrative functions like improved automation and fraud detection. Moreover, the ripple effects of these huge federal Medicaid cuts next year alone would include up to $60 billion in lost economic activity nationwide, which in turn could lead to 450,000 lost jobs and a $4.4 billion in lost state and local tax revenue. 

The reconciliation bill’s restrictions on state medical-provider taxes would similarly strain state budgets. To prevent an estimated 400,000 recipients nationwide from losing Medicaid coverage because of the curbs imposed on provider taxes, states would again need to either raise other taxes or cut other vital public services–again including cuts to Medicaid-administration initiatives that actually save money. 

Another example of the state-level harms caused by the bill is the slashing of SNAP benefits and shifting more administrative and — for the first time in history — benefit costs onto state budgets. It would also raise the work-requirement age to 64, narrow caregiver exemptions to only parents with children under 9, defund SNAP-Ed, restrict USDA’s ability to issue local waivers, and cap future benefit increases under the Thrifty Food Plan. These cuts punish vulnerable people rather than help them work, forcing grandparents into extra jobs, making parents choose between caring for their children and losing food assistance, and straining states and local retailers. Taken together, these changes would worsen food insecurity, hurt local economies, all to pay for massive tax giveaways to the ultra-rich.

We respectfully request that you oppose this harmful legislation that will harm millions of Americans across the country and in our communities.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Please let us know if we can provide additional information or assist further.

 

Sincerely, 

ALASKA

Elvi Gray-Jackson, Alaska State Senator

Zack Fields, Alaska State Representative

ARIZONA

Analise Ortiz, Arizona State Senator

Lauren Kuby, Arizona State Senator

Lela Alston, Arizona State Senator

Mitzi Epstein, Arizona State Senator

Rosanna Gabaldon, Arizona State Senator

CALIFORNIA

Alex Lee, California State Assemblymember

COLORADO

Mike Weissman, Colorado State Senator

Lorena Garcia, Colorado State Representative

CONNECTICUT 

Kate Farrar, Connecticut State Representative

GEORGIA 

Elena C. Parent, Georgia State Senator

Josh McLaurin, Georgia State Senator

Kim Jackson, Georgia State Senator

Nan Orrock, Georgia State Senator

Nikki Merritt, Georgia State Senator

RaShaun Kemp, Georgia State Senator

Sally Harrell, Georgia State Senator

Sheikh Rahman, Georgia State Senator

Sonya Halpern, Georgia State Senator

Anne Allen Westbrook, Georgia State Representative

Dr. Arlene Beckles, Georgia State Representative

Dewey McClain, Georgia State Representative

Gabriel Sanchez, Georgia State Representative

Karlton Howard, Georgia State Representative

Lisa Campbell,  Georgia State Representative

Lydia Glaize, Georgia State Representative

Mary Ann Santos, Georgia State Representative

Mekyah McQueen, Georgia State Representative

Phil OIaleye, Georgia State Representative

Robert Flournoy Jr, Georgia State Representative

Sam Park, Georgia State Representative

Shea Roberts, Georgia State Representative

Tanya Miller, Georgia State Representative

Terry A. Cummings, Georgia State Representative

HAWAII

Amy Perruso, Hawaii State Representative

Kim Coco  Iwamoto, Hawaii State Representative

Tina Nakada Grandinetti, Hawaii State Representative

IDAHO

Melissa Wintrow, Idaho State Senator

Monica Church, Idaho State Representative 

ILLINOIS

Graciela Guzman, Illinois State Senator

Javier L Cervantes, Illinois State Senator

Mary Edly-Allen, Illinois State Senator

Mike Simmons, Illinois State Senator

Rachel Ventura, Illinois State Senator

Abdelnasser Rashid, Illinois State Representative

Lindsey LaPointe, Illinois State Representative

Nabeela Syed, Illinois State Representative

Marti Deuter, Illinois State Representative

IOWA

Bob Kressig, Iowa State Representative

Josh Turek, Iowa State Representative

Mary Madison, Iowa State Representative

Tracy Ehlert,  Iowa State Representative

KANSAS

Heather Meyer, Kansas State Representative

Melissa Oropeza, Kansas State Representative

Susan Ruiz, Kansas State Representative

MARYLAND

David Moon, Maryland Delegate

Heather Bagnall, Maryland Delegate 

Joseline Pena-Melnyk, Maryland Delegate 

MINNESOTA

Heather Keeler, Minnesota State Representative

Kristi Pursell, Minnesota State Representative

Ned Carroll, Minnesota State Representative

Robert Bierman, Minnesota State Representative

Steve Elkins, Minnesota State Representative

Tina Liebling, Minnesota State Representative

MISSOURI

Doug Beck, Missouri Senate Minority Floor Leader

Tracy McCreery, Missouri State Senator 

Aaron Crossley, Missouri State Representative, Minority Whip

Ashley Aune, Missouri State Representative

Douglas Clemens, Missouri State Representative

Emily Weber, Missouri State Representative

Gregg Bush, Missouri State Representative

Jaclyn Zimmermann, Missouri State Representative

Jo Doll, Missouri State Representative

Kathy Steinhoff, Missouri State Representative

Kemp Strickler, Missouri State Representative

LaDonna Appelbaum, Missouri State Representative

Mark Boyko, Missouri State Representative

Nick Kimble, Missouri State Representative

Stephanie Hein, Missouri State Representative

Tiffany Price, Missouri State Representative

Will Jobe, Missouri State Representative

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Alexis Simpson, House Democratic Leader, New Hampshire State Representative

Laura Telerski, Deputy House Democratic Leader, New Hampshire State Representative

Buzz Scherr, New Hampshire State Representative

Carry Spier,  New Hampshire State Representative

David Paige, New Hampshire State Representative

Eileen Kelly, New Hampshire State Representative

Eleana Colby, New Hampshire State Representative

Eric Gallager, New Hampshire State Representative

Heather Raymond, New Hampshire State Representative

Dr. James Gruber, New Hampshire State Representative

Janet Lucas, New Hampshire State Representative

Jessica LaMontagne, New Hampshire State Representative

Karen Hegner, New Hampshire State Representative

Linda Haskins, New Hampshire State Representative

Matt Wilhelm, New Hampshire State Representative

Nancy Murphy, New Hampshire State Representative

Patrick N. Long, New Hampshire State Representative

Stephanie Grund, New Hampshire State Representative

Susan Elberger, New Hampshire State Representative

Wayne Pearson, New Hampshire State Representative

NEW YORK

Andrew Gounardes, New York State Senator

Cordell Cleare, New York State Senator

Gustavo Rivera, New York State Senator

Jabari Brisport, New York State Senator

Jeremy Cooney, New York State Senator

José M. Serrano, New York State Senator

Julia Salazar, New York State Senator

Kristen Gonzalez, New York State Senator

Liz Krueger, New York State Senator

Michelle Hinchey, New York State Senator

Nathalia Fernandez, New York State Senator

Robert Jackson, New York State Senator

Samra Brouk, New York State Senator

Shelley Mayer, New York State Senator

Claire Valdez, New York Assemblymember

Emily Gallagher, New York Assemblymember

Harvey Epstein, New York Assemblymember

Jessica González-Rojas, New York Assemblymember

John T. McDonald III, New York Assemblymember

Linda Rosenthal, New York Assemblymember

Phara Souffrant Forrest, New York Assemblymember

Rebecca A. Seawright, New York Assemblymember

NORTH CAROLINA

Natalie Murdock, North Carolina State Senator

Gale Adcock, North Carolina State Senator

Bryan Cohn, North Carolina State Representative

Cynthia Ball, North Carolina State Representative

Deborah Butler, North Carolina State Representative

Eric Ager, North Carolina State Representative

Julie von Haefen, North Carolina State Representative

Kanika Brown, North Carolina State Representative

Nasif Majeed, North Carolina State Representative

Phil Rubin, North Carolina State Representative

Renée A. Price, North Carolina State Representative

Tracy Clark, North Carolina State Representative

OHIO

Dontavius L. Jarrells, Assistant Minority Leader, Ohio State Representative

Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, Ohio State Representative

Karen Brownlee, Ohio State Representative

Sean Patrick Brennan, Ohio State Representative

OREGON

Janeen Sollman, Oregon State Senator

SOUTH DAKOTA

Elizabeth Larson, South Dakota State Senate Minority Leader 

TEXAS

Gene Wu, Texas State Representative

VIRGINIA

Scott A. Surovell, Virginia State Senate, Majority Leader

Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Virginia Delegate

Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Virginia Delegate

WISCONSIN

Dianne Hesselbein, Wisconsin State Senate Democratic Leader

Chris Larson, Wisconsin State Senator

Jamie Wall, Wisconsin State Senator

Kelda Roys, Wisconsin State Senator

Kristin Dassler-Alfheim, Wisconsin State Senator

Melissa Ratcliff, Wisconsin State Senator

Alex Joers, Wisconsin State Representative

Amaad Rivera-Wagner, Wisconsin State Representative

Andrew Hysell, Wisconsin State Representative

Angela Stroud, Wisconsin State Representative

Ben DeSmidt, Wisconsin State Representative

Brienne Brown, Wisconsin State Representative

Christine Sinicki, Wisconsin State Representative

Francesca Hong, Wisconsin State Representative

Jodi Emerson, Wisconsin State Representative

Karen DeSanto, Wisconsin State Representative

Lee Snodgrass, Wisconsin State Representative

Lori Palmeri, Wisconsin State Representative

Randy Udell, Wisconsin State Representative

Ryan Clancy, Wisconsin State Representative

Supreme Moore Omokunde, Wisconsin State Representative

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, Wisconsin State Representative

Tara Johnson, Wisconsin State Representative