“Affordable health care and healthy food should not be a luxury in America, but for far too many people it is.”
— Emily Stewart  


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

May 30, 2023

Contact: Jack Cardinal, (781) 960-5208, jcardinal@communitycatalyst.org 

(Washington, DC) — Community Catalyst released the following statement on the debt ceiling deal that was reached over the weekend between President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy. After months of grassroots organizing and advocacy, Community Catalyst and partners helped beat back harmful cuts to the Medicaid program which is critical to maintaining health and wellness among millions of people. However, cuts to other programs, including SNAP and TANF, are part of the deal. This signals to the public that policymakers are more concerned with protecting tax breaks for the wealthy than they are about the health and wellbeing of their communities. 

Statement from Emily Stewart, Executive Director, Community Catalyst 

“Speaker McCarthy and Republican leadership have used every opportunity to cut basic necessities for people and families, which is harmful to us all. Affordable health care and healthy food should not be a luxury in America, but for far too many it is. Across the board, we deserve better from our government, especially those that have been harmed most by systemic racism, classism and other forms of oppression. 

“Medicaid and additional critical programs like SNAP and TANF are a lifeline, which is why so many people continue to organize and speak out about the proposed cuts. While the debt ceiling deal avoided harmful cuts to Medicaid, people’s access to food, housing, and other necessities got harder as a result of this deal. It is shameful and wrong that these programs were used as a political bargaining chip, all while protecting tax breaks for the wealthy. 

“We all deserve to live in a nation where health is a right, where parents can raise their children to be healthy and free, and where the wealthiest among us are made to pay their fair share. Community Catalyst is working with our partners and advocates across the country to build the power of people to create a health system rooted in race equity and health justice, and a society where health is a right for all.”

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About Community Catalyst:  

Community Catalyst is a leading non-profit national health advocacy organization dedicated to advancing a movement for race equity and health justice. We partner with local, state and national advocates to leverage and build power so all people can influence decisions that affect their health. Health systems will not be accountable to people without a fully engaged and organized community voice. That’s why we work every day to ensure people’s interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and health care are made: in communities, state houses and on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit http://www.communitycatalyst.org. Follow us on Twitter @CommCatHealth.