SEIU Local 503 Executive Director Melissa Unger released the following statement in response to President Trump’s proposed 2021 budget:
The proposed budget by President Donald Trump could cost SEIU 503 members their jobs, and drastic cuts to public services could devastate communities across Oregon. Although there is almost no chance of Congress approving Trump’s budget, it stands as a statement of values and highlights the importance of electing a pro-Union president who will fight for working families in our upcoming election.
President Trump’s proposed 2021 budget cuts include:
- Cut Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act by $1 trillion over a decade
- Cut SNAP (food stamps) by almost 30%
- Cut Temporary Assistance for Needy Families by $20 billion
- Cut public housing funding by 43% and cancel housing and homeless programs
- Cut the EPA budget by 25%
Click here to start or increase your contribution to CAPE, our member-run political program. While CAPE does not endorse Federal candidates, the voluntary contributions that fund CAPE are used to support a pro-Union, pro-Worker agenda right here in Oregon.
Despite repeated promises to not touch Medicaid amid an affordable healthcare crisis, the budget would cut Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act by $1 trillion dollars over the next decade.
SNAP (food stamps) would be cut by almost 30% over ten years. Support for families with children experiencing poverty in the form of TANF would be cut by $20 billion over a decade. Social Services Block Grants would be eliminated, removing a vital source of funding to states for services for children, seniors, people with disabilities, and people experiencing homelessness, services our members provide. The budget proposes to cut Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, denying basic assistance for people with disabilities.
These cuts would harm many of the state programs that employ SEIU 503 members. And the impact on communities around Oregon – as families who rely on these services to meet their basic needs are cut off – is frankly hard to put into words.
Click here to tell your Senators and Representative to block these cuts.
President Trump’s budget would accelerate the houseless crisis in Oregon by cutting funding for public housing by 43%, eliminating vouchers for 160,000 low-income households, and abolishing the National Housing Trust Fund, Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships, and Choice Neighborhoods programs. The proposed budget would also slash funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 25%.