23-05-2025
Bay Area social service providers warn House bill would have 'devastating' impact
The Brief
A House budget bill that passed on Thursday includes cuts to SNAP/CalFresh, and Medicaid/Medi-Cal.
Political analysts say there is little chance the House bill will pass the Senate without amendments.
Senate Republicans are hoping to pass a bill by the 4th of July.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Bay Area counties and non-profits say there could be devastating impacts to social service programs if federal cuts in the House budget bill that passed Thursday are approved by the Senate.
What we know
The House bill includes a $267 billion reduction in funds for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food assistance to low-income households. The program is known as CalFresh in California.
"I get like $50 a month from CalFresh, and that's not much for anyone," Luis De La Garza said, as he picked up groceries at a food pantry by the non-profit Trybe at San Antonio Park in Oakland. "It will make an impact not only on my diet but on my health."
De La Garza is one of thousands of CalFresh recipients in Alameda County who could see their benefits cut.
"We have about 175,000 individuals who currently participate in the program. This includes children, working adults, and seniors," Elizabeth Gomez, chief impact officer at the Alameda County Food Bank said.
De La Garza says he is also worried about his Medi-Cal or Medicaid health coverage which helped cover costs for his wheelchair.
Some Senate Republicans have expressed concerns, too, about the bill's estimated $700 billion in cuts to Medicaid.
The California Medical Association says some 15 million Californians rely on Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program.
Federal funding cuts could end up putting more cost burdens on counties.
"About a quarter of our population, 300,000 people, get Medi-Cal and get services through that," John Gioia, a Contra Costa County supervisor on the Family and Human Services Committee, said.
Gioia said federal cuts would likely hurt the county's North Richmond Health Center, which has five doctors providing county health services to about 4,000 low-income residents nearby.
"It means more people will show up at emergency rooms and cost our health system more money. It could mean clinics like this have shorter hours, fewer doctors providing healthcare services, people waiting longer," Gioia said.
Chinyere Madawaki has been the manager at the Contra Costa Services North Richmond Center for 25 years.
"The impact is that most people are working poor. So we are the people who provide care," Madawaki said. "A lot of our patients have chronic disease issues, hypertension, diabetes, asthma. So we need to make sure we address them so they don't end up in the ER."
What they're saying
Some political analysts say there is little chance the House bill will pass the Senate without amendments.
"Fiscal conservatives aren't particularly happy. Blue State Republicans aren't particularly happy, those from states that have significant investments on renewables aren't happy," said Corey Cook, professor of politics at St. Mary's College.
Cook says two Republicans, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson have already objected to the House GOP bill, as not being fiscally conservative enough.
Other moderates, such as Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski have voiced concerns about Medicaid cuts.
Senate Republicans can only afford to lose three votes in order to pass a bill. Senate Republicans hold 53 seats, compared to Democrats with 45 seats and two Independents who caucus with Democrats.
"I think what we're likely to see is a very different bill pass the Senate, which means we're going to go through the House process and have another battle there," Cook said.
Senate Republicans hope to pass a bill by July 4.
