Rep. Cockley Joins Nearly 900 State, Local Elected Leaders to Oppose Extreme Cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and Public services

COLUMBUS — Today, in an effort organized by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), State Rep. Christine Cockley (D-Columbus) and more than 800 state and local elected officials signed onto a bipartisan letter to oppose the budget bill, which would severely hurt Ohio and communities nationwide. The letter warns that significant cuts at the federal level and added administrative costs will cause massive budget shortfalls and put an impossible burden on states to meet. As a result, deeper cuts would have to be made at the state and local levels, hurting local economies and impacting every sector from health care to public safety. 

The letter reads in part, “As government leaders, we understand the importance of rooting out fraud, waste and abuse to keep public services strong, but this plan fails to do that. Instead, it would rip the very fabric of our nation's social safety net wide open to give the wealthiest people tax breaks they don’t need. Meanwhile, veterans, seniors, children, people with disabilities, and all working people will suffer.” 

“With this budget, Congress is effectively making working people pay for billionaire tax breaks by taking away their health care, food support, kid’s education and more. We should be working on strengthening public services and making them more efficient, not gutting them,” said Rep. Cockley. “To protect the health and well-being of our communities, the Senate must abandon this reckless budget.” 

EDITORS NOTE: A copy of the full letter with signers is linked here.