Dem. Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Black Caucus Chair Rep. Yvette Clarke ‘Medicaid Day of Action’ at One Brooklyn Health

By Mary Alice Miller
Days after Trump signed a short-term spending bill that avoided a government shutdown, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries organized a national Medicaid Day of Action. The bill passed on party lines in the House with Democrats united in opposition and with 10 Democrat votes in the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has been excoriated for his support of the bill, but the alternative would have shut down the entire federal government and given the Trump administration carte blanche to selectively maintain the closure of select agencies.

The spending bill, which would theoretically fund federal agencies through September despite Elon Musk’s DOGE dismantling of the very same federal agencies that Congress funds, will cut $13 billion in non-defense spending from FY 2024 levels and increase defense spending slightly by $6 billion.

Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security are the three most significant parts of non-defense federal spending. Since Social Security and Medicare are automatic spending, Medicaid is at risk for deep cuts.

In addition, the spending bill effectively gives the Trump administration a blank check to direct spending as Trump sees fit. Usually, spending bills have specific funding directives for certain programs. The current bill does away with hundreds of those directives.

Seeing the writing on the wall, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries came to One Brooklyn Health’s Interfaith Campus to call for a Medicaid Day of Action.

“Republicans have proposed the largest Medicaid cut in American history because they want to pass massive tax breaks for billionaire donors like Elon Musk and wealthy corporations,” said Leader Jeffries. “It will devastate children, families, people with disabilities, older Americans, women, and everyday Americans in this community, in the city of New York, and across the country.”

Jeffries declared, “It’s unacceptable. It’s unconscionable. It’s un-American, and together we’re going to do everything we have to do to stop these cuts from ever taking effect.”

This Medicaid cut that has been proposed all across the country, we’re having a
Medicaid Day of Action to save Medicaid here in New York City in New York
State, in blue states, in purple states, in red states all across America, Medicaid is healthcare, and we believe that in the United States of America healthcare is not simply a privilege it is a right.

Medicaid is health care we’re going to fight to make sure that that right is alive and well and save Medicaid in the United States of America. Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Yvette Clarke joined Jeffries at OBH.

“We say no cuts to Medicaid. it is an assault on health care,” said Clarke. “I’m proud to stand at Leader Jeffrey’s side for this Medicaid Day of Action, just as I am proud to call myself a colleague to Democrats across this nation who are speaking the same message. We are today relaying the same dangers of this spending bill, and standing for the same people and families it will hurt.”

Clarke spoke of serving on the committee of jurisdiction for health care in the House of Representatives, the Energy and Commerce Committee. “We have been sent a mandate essentially to cut 880 billion dollars from the federal budget in order to provide space in the budget for the trillions of tax cuts to the wealthiest, the wealthiest in the United States of America,” said Clarke.

She added, “This is a humanitarian crisis. Know that House Democrats will use every tool at our disposal to stop this devastating scheme. It is clear that Republicans have put a bullseye on the most vulnerable Americans among us. We will not sit down and stay quiet.”

Clarke said in the 9th Congressional District alone, cuts to Medicaid will severely impact over 65,000 people over the age of 65, 24,000 disabled children and adults, 146,000 young adults, 85,000 parents and caretakers, 149,000 children, and 11,000 pregnant women.
“These cuts will hurt roughly 500,000 people within my district alone.

That’s almost half of our district. There are real people who will lose more than $5 million in Medicaid benefits and the services they rely on. You’ll see similar disturbing figures across this nation,” she said.

Clarke explained the related impact of cuts to Medicaid.
“The cascading effect of cutting $880 billion dollars out of health care will not only mean the threat to our health and well-being. It will mean higher unemployment. It will mean the closure of hospitals and federally qualified healthcare institutions within our communities,” said Clarke. “It will mean devastation at every turn. We have just recovered from a pandemic.

We are seeing the outbreak of measles across this nation. Without your health, nothing else matters.”

She added, “This is not the time for the wealthiest in our nation – the top 1% – to line their pockets at the expense of the health and well-being of the people of the United States. It’s time to stand up. It’s time to fight. Democrats will continue to fight back by holding Republicans accountable.”

“We’re having a Medicaid Day of Action, engagements, site visits, town hall meetings, press conferences, interactions with our constituents, hearing from healthcare providers all across the country to elevate their voices to make sure that the American people understand that this is a matter of life and death when it comes to saving Medicaid,” said Jeffries.

He continued, “It’s inhumane what the Republicans are trying to do. We’re going to expose their scheme all across the country.

It’s a scheme to jam these massive tax cuts down the throat of the American people for their billionaire donors and wealthy corporations who don’t need it, and then they want to force working-class Americans to pay the bill by robbing working-class Americans of their healthcare. We will not let it happen.”

“We are all aligned on the fights that are in front of us on behalf of the people that we represent here in Brooklyn, and New York City, and across the country. That is saving Medicaid, saving Social Security, saving Medicare,” said Jeffries. “Elon Musk and Donald Trump and the Republicans want to take a chainsaw to Medicaid.

They want to take a chainsaw to Social Security. They want to take a chainsaw to Medicare. But let me be clear we’re going to take a chainsaw to Project 2025.”