Prof. Leighton Ku on how federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP could trigger the loss of a million jobs
Leighton Ku, lead author and Director of the Center for Health Policy Research and professor of health policy and management at GWU's Milken Institute School of Public Health (Courtesy photo)
As NC Newsline has reported at length recently, Republicans in Congress are seeking to enact massive and unprecedented cuts to two of the nation's core social safety net programs — Medicaid and SNAP food assistance. And while it's not hard to show how such cuts will impact the people in need who depend on those programs, a new report from the Commonwealth Fund and The George Washington University School of Public Health points to another big and worrisome likely impact. It warns that the proposed cuts could trigger severe economic consequences — including the loss of a million jobs, a $113 billion decline in the gross domestic products of U.S. states, and $8.8 billion in lost state and local tax revenue in 2026 alone. And recently, to learn more, Newsline caught up with the report's lead author, the Director of the Center for Health Policy Research at The George Washington University, Professor Leighton Ku.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Leighton Ku.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
27 minutes ago
- UPI
NC governor vetoes permit-less concealed carry, ICE cooperation
1 of 2 | Immigration and Customs Enforcement makes an arrest in Californa. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein voted legislation that would have required law enforcement to coordinate operations with immigration officers. Photo by ICE/Flickr June 21 (UPI) -- North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein vetoed a bill to require state law enforcement to work more closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in addition to another that would allow permit-less concealed carry of firearms. The Democratic governor on Friday announced vetoes of the legislation, which had been approved by both legislative chambers. Stein said the state is already stretched to assist federal officers. "My oath of office requires that I uphold the Constitution of the United States," Stein said. "Therefore, I cannot sign this bill because it would require sheriffs to unconstitutionally detain people for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. He noted the federeal Fourth Circuit "is clear that local law enforcement officers cannot keep people in custody solely based on a suspected immigration violation." Stein said he also wants offenders to be held accountable. "Let me be clear, anyone who commits a serious crime in North Carolina must be prosecuted and held accountable regardless of their immigration status." He said he supports the bills' efforts to require sheriffs to contact federal immigration authorities about people in their custody charged with dangerous crimes, including sexual battery, armed robbery, arson, assault on public officials and court personnel. The vetoes were supported by Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers, Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough and Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden. Republicans blasted the decision by the governor, who was elected in November. "Gov. Stein proved where his allegiances are," state Senate Leader Phil Berger posted on X. "He'd rather prioritize his far-left donors and their dangerous open-border policies over the citizens of North Carolina who are desperately pleading for us to put an end to the illegal immigration crisis. I look forward to the Senate overriding his veto." Stein also vetoed a bill that would have allowed permitless concealed carry in North Carolina. "This bill makes North Carolinians less safe and undermines responsible gun ownership," Stein said. "The bill eliminates training requirements associated with concealed carry permits and reduces the age to carry a concealed weapon from 21 to 18 years old. "We can and should protect the right to bear arms without recklessly endangering law enforcement officers and our people." Berger criticized the veto of this bill. "Law-abiding North Carolinians shouldn't have to jump through hoops to effectively exercise their Second Amendment rights," the Senate leader said. "It's past time for us to join the majority of states that recognize Constitutional Carry. I look forward to the Senate overriding Gov. Stein's veto." To override a veto, three-fifths of the House and Senate must approve the bills. In the latest election, Democrats broke the Republican supermajority in the House by gaining one seat. The GOP has a one-vote supermajority in the Senate.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Senate GOP's plan to push food aid costs onto states axed from megabill
Senate Republicans' plan to force states to share the cost of the country's largest nutrition program to pay for their policy megabill has been halted by the chamber's rules. The Senate parliamentarian determined that the cost-sharing plan would violate the so-called Byrd Rule, which limits what can be included in the reconciliation process, and would be subject to a 60-vote filibuster threshold, according to an advisory sent out Friday night by Senate Budget Committee Democrats. That means Republicans will need to head back to the drawing board after months of heated debate about how to slash spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The advisory comes after Senate Agriculture Committee staff met with Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on Thursday to discuss their piece of the reconciliation bill text. The cost-sharing plan, which was first put forward by House Republicans, sparked backlash from state officials and concerns within the caucus. The bill would make states pay for SNAP benefits for the first time using a sliding scale based on their payment error rates. The Senate Agriculture Committee introduced a scaled-back version of the House GOP's cost-sharing plan earlier this month. Without it, Senate Republicans will struggle to find enough cuts to pay for their policy priorities and the $67 billion farm bill package they included — all with an ambitious timeline of delivering the megabill to President Donald Trump's desk by July 4. Although the committee's bill hadn't received a final cost saving estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, committee staff predicted it would save around $211 billion in agriculture spending, with the cost-share plan making up a large portion of those trims. MacDonough also struck measures that would remove SNAP eligibility for immigrants who are not lawful permanent residents and extend a farm bill provision that allows federal officials to update farm payment programs.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Senate parliamentarian strikes key SNAP spending cuts from GOP megabill
The Senate parliamentarian on Friday ruled against several more Republican provisions in President Trump's megabill, including language to bar immigrants who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents from receiving food assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, also ruled against a key Republican pay-for in the bill, a proposal requiring states to pay for a certain percentage of food assistance under SNAP depending on those states' error rates in delivering aid. The proposal to shift SNAP costs onto the states was a sticking point with Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine). The parliamentarian's ruling could make it easier for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to pick up Murkowski's and Collins's support as the SNAP-related pay-for will now need to be stripped from the legislation. The Senate bill as drafted would have required states to pay between 5 and 15 percent of food benefits in 2028 on their rate of error in paying out food benefits. Almost every state in the country has had error rates of 6 percent or higher, which would have shifted a significant percentage of the cost for delivering food assistance onto the states. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that the Senate language would have cost North Carolina, for example, to pay up to $438 million for food aid in 2028. MacDonough struck another blow against the GOP leadership's agenda by ruling against a section to extend the suspension of permanent price support authority, something that traditionally has been part of the farm bill. Congress passed a one-year extension of the farm bill in December after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach a deal on a multi-year extension of the law due to disagreements over SNAP funding. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, applauded the parliamentarian's decision on Friday. 'The Senate parliamentarian has begun providing guidance that certain provisions in the Republicans' One Big, Beautiful Betrayal will be subject to the Byrd Rule — ultimately meaning they will need to be stripped from the bill or altered to comply with the rules of reconciliation,' Merkley said in a statement. 'As much as Senate Republicans would prefer to throw out the rule book at advance their conservative families lose and billionaires win agenda, this process has rules and Democrats are making sure those rules are enforced,' he added. 'We will be fighting this bill every single day until Republicans bring it to the floor.' Provisions of the reconciliation package that the parliamentarian decides violate the Senate's Byrd Rule are not eligible to pass with a simple-majority vote. If Thune and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) don't remove provisions found to be in violation of the Byrd Rule, the Republican package would need to muster 60 votes to advance. The parliamentarian ruled against several provisions of the bill under the Commerce Committee's jurisdiction, including a section that appropriated $250 million to Coast Guard stations on South Padre Island, Texas, damaged by fire in 2025. She also ruled that language allocating $85 million to transfer the space shuttle on display at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum to a non-profit group in Texas would not be eligible for the budget reconciliation fast track. Provisions found not to comply with the Byrd Rule would need at least 60 votes to overcome a point-of-order objection. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
