Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
President Donald Trump signed his “Big Beautiful Bill” into law on July 4.
Democratic leaders have been vocal about their opposition to the bill and the negative impact it will have on North Carolinians.
In her monthly newsletter, U.S. Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) voiced her opposition noting, “The Republican reconciliation budget—their One, Big Ugly Bill—places tax breaks for billionaires over the basic needs of our families, gutting lifesaving programs like SNAP and Medicaid for millions of North Carolinians. This bill isn’t just budget line items; it represents people who will be hurt by these reckless, unprecedented cuts.”
She went on to note, “Nationally, this bill will make more than $1 trillion in healthcare cuts. In our state, this could mean as many as 663,000 North Carolinians on Medicaid could lose their healthcare.”
Reductions in federal support for Medicaid and Affordable Care Act marketplaces will cause nearly 12 million more people to be without insurance by 2034, the Congressional Budget Office estimates.
Losing access to healthcare, means losing the lifesaving benefits that will heavily impact marginalized communities. Medicaid has been essential resource in combatting the Black maternal health crisis, with over 65 percent of Black mothers receiving perinatal care through Medicaid. It funds special education programming for the 17,000 students with disabilities in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. And by severely limiting provider taxes and state-directed payments which are essential lifelines for hospitals, this budget will reduce essential services and close hospitals, especially in rural areas.
Cuts to SNAP benefits are threatening the food security of 1.4 million North Carolinians. The budget forces North Carolina to cover SNAP expenses that the federal budget refused to fund, costing the state government up to $500 million to keep SNAP operational. In addition, these cuts to SNAP and Medicaid will reduce participation in free or reduced-priced school meals eligibility, and the Summer EBT program, which supports over one million kids in North Carolina and prevents them from going hungry in the summer.
“Between changes to SNAP and the EBT program, we know our most vulnerable, and especially our children, will be forced to go to bed hungry,” said Adams.
N.C. Gov. Josh Stein also expressed disappointment in the passage of the bill and pledged to take action to protect North Carolina residents.
“The bill is a disgrace, and I am disappointed in those who did not stand up for the people they serve, choosing instead to ignore warnings from local leaders and groups across the state who have sounded the alarm about the dangers in this bill,” Stein said in a statement.
He went on to say, “The General Assembly must step up to protect our bipartisan Medicaid expansion law and food assistance through SNAP. This will require taking a hard look at our laws, our state budget, and our long-term revenue requirements. Even as those in Washington have left North Carolinians behind, I stand ready to do whatever I can to protect people’s health care and jobs and keep children fed and healthy. We can and must do better.”
The bill also severely impacts access to higher education, by cutting $300 billion of federal support for higher education students and borrowers. This will cause repayment rates to double and triple for borrowers and force more to look into private loans. For Pell grant recipients, this bill would kick 1.5 million students, or 20 percent of all Pell grant recipients, off the program. This will impact students at every college and university, but especially students at HBCUs, as 73 percent of HBCU students are Pell grant recipients.
While the bill provides no tax on tips or overtime, these provisions expire in 2028, and individuals are capped on how much they can receive.
“This [bill] will harm single mothers who can’t afford to see a doctor. Children who are going to bed hungry. Rural communities whose hospitals will close. Veterans who served our country, but we won’t support. These are the people this bill betrays,” said Adams. “I will never stop fighting to protect my constituents and communities, but many of my colleagues today have shown that they won’t.”
