After months of claiming that Democrats were “gaslighting” the public over concerns about the Republican budget in Washington, D.C. and how it will hurt Connecticut residents, Republicans chose to boycott a public meeting this week where financial experts laid out in detail just how gruesome those Republicans budget cuts will be for Connecticut citizens.
It wasn’t pretty.
The General Assembly’s Human Services Committee held an informational hearing to discuss the impact of Donald Trump and the Republicans’ federal budget on Connecticut citizens.
Among the findings: About 168,000 Connecticut residents – one out of every seven Medicaid recipients – will lose their Medicaid coverage due to Republican budget cuts and program changes, and more than 51,000 Connecticut residents – 33% of all those enrolled – will lose their federal subsidy for buying health insurance on the Access Health Connecticut health insurance exchange (aka “Obamacare”.)
Federal tax credits for wind, solar, and other renewable energy investments are gone, Connecticut’s food stamp program (“SNAP”) is being cut, and Republicans have eliminated the federal LIHEAP energy assistance program, thereby ending $80 million in heating aid for Connecticut’s senior citizens just months before the New England winter settles in.
“On the SNAP side alone – our food stamp program – we heard cuts to single moms, cuts to American veterans, cuts to kids coming out of foster care, and – and I don’t know why we would want to do this as Americans – cuts to survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. Maybe the president and his allies can come to us and explain why they thought the victims of human trafficking are the targets of their wrath,” said Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, who is Senate Chair of the Human Services Committee.
Lesser noted some of the damage of the Republican budget plan will be felt this fall and winter, and that states cannot wait for the Republicans in the federal government to provide solutions to the problems they created.
“Red states and blue states are struggling with this,” Lesser said. “And it is hard not to notice this side of the room is empty (gesturing to where Republican legislators normally sit), and I don’t know if it’s only the job of Democrats to figure out what the intention of the Republican budget bill is, but we need to figure this out.”
In fact, not a single Republican legislator attended the Human Services Committee hearing in person – despite Republicans demanding on a regular basis that public hearings should always be conducted in person instead of online, and that state employees should report to work in person every day.
Only one Republican Human Services Committee member even bothered to observe the forum remotely, but even he didn’t even speak or ask any questions — evidence that Connecticut Republicans are so far under the thumb of Donald Trump that they are willing to remain silent and sacrifice the health of their own constituents who elected them instead of questioning the wisdom of the Republican Trump administration.
Human Services Senate Republican ranking member, Sen. Jason Perillo, who represents Monroe, Seymour, Shelton and Stratford, will see 7,000 of his own neighbors and constituents lose their Access Health CT health insurance subsidy or be kicked off of Medicare because of the Republican federal budget changes, according to a town-by-town analysis by Data Haven.
Human Services House Ranking member, Rep. Jay Case, who represents Colebrook, Torrington and Winchester, will see 3,709 of his neighbors and constituents lose coverage too.
Other Republican Human Services Committee members who did not attend the informational hearing and who showed no interest in learning how the Trump/Republican budget cuts will affect their own neighbors and constituents include:
- Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco, who represents Southington and Wolcott, 2,992 constituents losing coverage
- Rep. William Pizzuto, representing Middlebury and Waterbury, 13,256 constituents losing coverage
- Rep. Tony Scott, representing Easton, Monroe and Trumbull, 2,585 constituents losing coverage
- Rep. Chris Stewart – who was elected to represent Killingly, Putnam and Thompson and who then essentially never showed up to debate or vote on legislative bills – 2,286 constituents losing coverage
- Rep. Kurt Vail, representing Somers, Stafford, Union and Woodstock, 1,278 constituents losing coverage
The only Republican public comment on the informational hearing came from House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford, who told Hearst CT Media that “much of these cuts are a fantasy” and who then blamed the federal Medicaid and insurance subsidy cuts on Democrats who, Candelora complained, have never spent money on social services – despite Candelora’s long-repeated demand that Democrats cut spending and adhere to state budget spending caps.
3,319 of Rep. Candelora’s constituents in Durham, East Haven, Guilford and North Branford will lose their Access CT insurance subsidy or be kicked off Medicaid under the Trump/Republican budget.
