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The U.S. Senate has just passed its version of the budget resolution that promises to cut taxes for the wealthy and make deep cuts to social welfare programs such as Medicaid — MaineCare in Maine — and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. The House is expected to pass its version soon. The next step will be for committees in both chambers to work out the details of the broad outlines of these budget resolutions. The House version calls for a potential $880 billion cut in Medicaid and a potential $230 billion cut in SNAP.
As a former professor at the University of Maine, I spent decades researching the impact of public assistance programs on the lives of low-income Mainers; I know these cuts would be devastating to so many people. Any cuts to MaineCare could impact up to one in four of our neighbors, as about 25 percent of the state’s population benefits from this program. Such cuts would not only cause tremendous hardship for individuals but would also negatively impact community hospitals.
Furthermore, cuts to SNAP would impact 12 percent of Maine households. These households include older adults (43 percent), children (34 percent), and people with disabilities (58 percent). Moreover, 6,385 veterans living in Maine receive SNAP.
Please join me in demanding that all four of our members of Congress speak out forcefully against the cuts to these life-saving programs. It is outrageous that Mainers would lose healthcare and access to food, so the country’s wealthiest could benefit from lower taxes.
Sandra Butler
Orono
