Dear friends and neighbors,
Over the last few months I’ve covered a lot of the work we did last session (if you want a refresher, you can see all my previous e-newsletters here). As we get closer to the end of the year, and the beginning of next session, I’m reaching out to hear more from you about your priorities, so that I can use that feedback to guide my work. I have a survey here where you can help me to identify key issues for next session.
It is an honor to represent you in Olympia, and these surveys help guide my work. In addition to highlighting what areas are important, there is also space to talk about why those issues rise to the top for you. I’ve heard in previous years about the cost of childcare, housing affordability, and much more.
I look forward to going over the responses to this survey and using that to inform my work next session, and as always, please reach out to my office with any questions or concerns you may have.
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On Tuesday the Tacoma News Tribune published a piece I wrote about the significant damage that HR 1, the Republican federal budget bill passed earlier this year, will have in Washington state.
I covered some of my concerns about HR 1 in an e-newsletter last month, and this piece goes into more detail about the devastation that this budget will cause. We estimate that 180,000 Washingtonians on Medicaid will lose their coverage. HR 1 also guts the Affordable Care Act subsidies that help 286,000 Washingtonians afford coverage every year, many of whom are self-employed or work in jobs that don’t provide health insurance.
As people lose coverage, the ripple effects will hit all of us. More emergency room care puts strain on our health care system. As hospitals in rural areas are forced to close, other hospitals will have to take on more patients. Put simply, HR 1 is devastating.
Over the last six years, Democrats in Olympia have increased healthcare and public health funding by $14 billion, including a $909 million increase last year to maintain Medicaid coverage. Legislative Republicans opposed those increases.
HR 1 cuts an estimated $3 billion of Medicaid funding for our state each year — a 10% cut. Republicans in the other Washington own this mess, and they could fix it if they wanted to. In the meantime, I hope that Republicans here in Washington will join us in protecting our state from these damaging impacts.
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In my last e-newsletter I passed along an update on SNAP, now that the Republican government shutdown has come to an end, SNAP benefits should be dispersed as expected (for now, until HR 1 changes go into effect next year).
To learn more about food assistance (called Basic Food in Washington, also known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP) click here.
To learn more about temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) click here.
To apply for either/both TANF or Basic Food, or other state assistance programs, click here.
To learn more about food banks in Pierce County click here.
