Politics

“CRESTWOOD, Mo. — The prospect of sweeping federal cuts to Medicaid is alarming to some Missourians who remember the last time the public medical insurance program for those with low incomes or disabilities was pressed for cash in the state.

“Congressional Republicans agree that the federal government has a spending problem. Now top GOP leaders want to make it someone else’s problem — by shifting some safety-net programs onto state budgets.

"A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a bill aimed at expanding paid family leave, the result of more than two years of work by the House Paid Family Leave Working Group.

"Last week, news broke that the Trump administration intends to propose zeroing out Head Start in the upcoming budget. While many people's immediate concern is rightfully for the hundreds of thousands of children and families whose lives would be upended, attacks on programs that exclusively serve low-income Americans are a popular tactic because that population votes at low rates.

“America’s food banks are facing a looming crisis under President Donald Trump‘s administration as proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits get closer to becoming a reality.

"Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has spent years boosting a federal program to support minority-owned businesses. President Donald Trump's administration dismantled it in a matter of weeks.

“When Republican leaders weigh which of their members might defy the party and defect on major legislation, Senator Jerry Moran’s name rarely comes up.

“As the Trump administration has hacked away at the Department of Health and Human Services these past few weeks, most of the attention has focused on the cuts applied to high-profile agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"If congressional Republicans go through with some of the deep Medicaid cuts they are considering, three states would be left in an especially tight bind.