The United States House of Representatives today passed the Senate’s version of the reconciliation bill that will worsen hunger and strip health care coverage from millions of families. The bill now goes to President Donald Trump to be signed into law. It includes the largest cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in history and takes away food assistance and health coverage from lawfully present immigrants. In response, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families Executive Director Keesa Smith-Brantley issued the following statement:

“We are disappointed in the House of Representatives’ passage of the Senate’s budget reconciliation bill, particularly so with Arkansas’s Congressional delegation. Our Senators and Representatives, in voting for this bill have condemned hundreds of thousands of Arkansans to increased hunger and poverty and poorer health.

At Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, we are thankful for our fellow advocates across the state who have called and emailed the members of their congressional delegation and who have shared our information and action alerts with their networks. It is through the strength of our collective voices that we retain never-ending hope for the future.

I am grateful to our staff at Arkansas Advocates, who have dedicated much of their time to analyzing provisions in each draft of the bill, assessing how the bill will affect our state, and providing this analysis and information in various forms to a multitude of audiences. Although the outcome was not what we wanted, I am confident our efforts will yield benefits in other ways. We have made a greater number of Arkansans more aware of how high the stakes can be when lawmakers take funding away from critical programs. We have activated community members around the state who might have otherwise stayed out of the conversation entirely. And we have honed a range of skills that will serve us well in the future. Of course, we will keep Arkansans updated on the implementation and impact of this bill.

Our continued passion must drive our purpose as we look ahead to what comes next.”