WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representative Raúl M. Grijalva blasted the draconian House Republican budget proposal to cut fiscal year 2024 discretionary spending back to the fiscal year 2022 enacted level—resulting in a cut of at least 22 percent for essential programs – and the harm it would cause veterans, underserved communities and access to health care for Americans.

“The extreme Republican budget proposal will leave many working families, vulnerable communities and our veterans hung out to dry,” said Rep. Grijalva. “It’s clear from the Republican budget that their priority is to give more kickbacks to wealthy corporations instead of improving the quality of life for everyday Americans.  At a time when many families are struggling to secure affordable housing and we are transitioning away from emergency health programs, this proposal is extremely reckless”.  

The Republican budget proposal would drastically hurt Americans by:

Housing

• Restricting much needed housing in Indian Country. Housing conditions in Indian Country are among the most dire in the United States. Funding would be reduced by $173 million, which would reduce funding for Native American Housing Block Grants to its lowest level since it was implemented in 1996.
• Revoking access to rental assistance and be evicted. 640,000 families would lose access to rental assistance and more than 430,000 low-income families would be evicted from Section 8 housing, causing an unprecedented loss of affordable housing for older adults, persons with disabilities, families with children, and veterans.
• Raising Housing Costs for 5,300 Arizonans. Under the extreme MAGA House Republicans’ proposal, 5,300 families in Arizona would lose access to rental assistance, including older adults, persons with disabilities, and families with children, who without rental assistance would be at risk of homelessness.

Health

• According to American Public Health Association, “Implementing unrealistic, unproven and discriminatory work requirements for certain Medicaid and SNAP program recipients could cause up to 10 million individuals to lose access to health
  coverage and hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries to lose access to nutritious food”.
• Rural and underserved communities would lose health care. An estimated 2 million vulnerable individuals and families, including rural and underserved populations, would lose access to health care services through Community Health Centers.
• Indian Country would have a more difficult time accessing health care. With the proposed cuts, the Indian Health Service would reduce inpatient admissions by over 4,000, outpatient services by nearly 1.6 million visits, dental visits by nearly 120,000, mental health visits by nearly 90,000.

Veterans

• Threaten Medical Care for Arizona Veterans. The extreme MAGA House Republicans’ proposal would mean 127,000 fewer veteran outpatient visits in Arizona, leaving veterans unable to get appointments for care like wellness visits, mental health services, and substance disorder treatment.
• Cut to Staff and Longer Wait Times for Benefits. The budget proposal would reduce the Veterans Benefits Administration staffing, making it harder to process compensation and pension processing. As a result of cuts, the backlog would grow furth and veterans would be unable to receive the assistance they need.

More information on the Republican’s budget proposal on veterans can be found here, on housing can be found here and on health care can be found here.