Will federal cuts hurt someone you know?
June 12, 2025
By Rev. Rick King
I’ll be brief this week, because early Thursday morning, I take my wife to the airport at 4 a.m., pack a bag, and head north to St. Joseph for anti-racism training all day at College of St. Benedict before the Minnesota Conference UCC Annual Meeting begins Friday. I’ll be joined by our church’s delegates, Lynne Bradbury and Cor Wilson.
Now, to the matter at hand.
Are you as appalled as I am by the federal 2025 budget bill advanced by the White House, which has passed the House of Representatives, and which the president wants to be able to sign by July 4?
Did you know that proposed cuts to Medicaid, which serves low-income people and those living in poverty, will deny health care to over 10 million people in the U.S., and boot people you and I know and love off of MinnesotaCare, our state’s low-income health insurance program?
In addition, the House version of the bill, which passed narrowly along party lines, would cut 3.2 million people from the Supplemental Nutrition Aid Program (SNAP), and require states to pay at least 5 percent of the food aid benefits, along with increasing to 75 percent the proportion of the program’s administrative costs states are responsible for, up from the current 50 percent.
I have personal experience with WIC (Women, Infants and Children), another federal food assistance program that’s on the chopping block in this budget bill; it helped Linda and me feed our family when our kids were little. And I have a family member who’s on MinnesotaCare.
Who do YOU know or know of who’d be affected by these cuts? Do they have a story to share? We’re aiming to make the impact of these cuts as real-life and specific as possible with our senators, along with our Minnesota elected officials. Research visits with county commissioners are being scheduled now, with the goal of increasing public pressure on senators and representatives as the bill makes its way through the Senate and back to the House, with changes.
Also, I recently signed onto two open letters to elected officials about the budget bill and preserving civil liberties. You can sign a petition about cuts to the safety net here: https://bit.ly/MNSafetyNetPetition
And if you know as small business owner who would suffer if the small business safety net programs were cut, as they are proposed to be in this federal budget, you can sign a petition here: https://bit.ly/SmallBizSafetyNetPetition
Our voices, our stories of impact, and our concern for the common good and our local communities matter in this fight we are in for the heart and soul of our democracy. Please consider what you can do, small or large, to make yours heard.