You’d think the Democratic rebels (and the Independent) would have remembered Democrats’ pro-people heritage – the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the War on Poverty, the Great Society. Uh-uh: These rebels turned their backs on the party of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman.
Medicaid covers about 12% of the U.S. population – about one in 8 Americans. And the Agriculture Department says that “in FY 2024, SNAP served an average of 41.7 million participants per month ... (and) benefits averaged $187.20 per participant per month.”
That’s a terrible waste of congressional cash, isn’t it? After all, consider this budget bonanza: According to the Government Accountability Office, “the Defense (War) Department’s F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter ... has been plagued by mounting costs and delays resulting in what some have called a staggering price tag of more than $2 trillion over several decades.” Hey, that’s OK – plenty of make-work jobs in Sunbelt weapons plants, yes?
While Donald Trump and GOP congressional leaders aren’t necessarily aiming to abolish Medicaid and SNAP altogether – though some hate-the-poor politicos would surely like to – it’s incontestable that Capitol Hill bickering over the shutdown could blow huge holes in Medicaid and SNAP.
And that’s where the eight mealy-mouthed “process” senators (seven Democrats, one Independent) come in. Consider their home-state data. (Consider also that the median age of all Americans is about 39, making the Senate a fossil showcase):
- Sen. Angus King, a Maine Independent; age 81, who caucuses with Democrats. KFF (the former Kaiser Family Foundation) says that as of 2023, about 396,000 Maine residents (one in eight) were Medicaid patients. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says about 12% of Maine residents are SNAP clients. Good luck, down-easters.
- Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, age 80, who’s retiring before the voters pull the plug themselves; Illinois has about 2.9 million Medicaid patients, and about 15% of Illinois residents are SNAP clients.
- Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, age 78, also retiring to spare voters’ energy, and Maggie Hassan, age 67, a fellow New Hampshire Democrat; Hassan, unlike Shaheen, will soldier on to help the shutdown “process.” New Hampshire has about 181,000 Medicaid patients; and 5% of its residents are SNAP clients. The state’s motto: Live Free or Die. We know which option Congress likes.
- Nevada Democratic Sens. Jacklyn (Jacky) Rosen, age 68, and Catherine Cortez Masto, age 61; Nevada has about 738,000 Medicaid patients and 15% of the state’s residents are SNAP clients.
- Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, age 67; Virginia has about 1.52 million Medicaid patients; 12% of its residents are SNAP clients; and,
- Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, age 56; about 2.99 million Pennsylvanians are Medicaid patients and about 15% are SNAP clients. (Ohio has 3.08 million Medicaid clients, and about 12% of Ohioans are SNAP clients.)
This sordid chronicle is yet another example of how some Democratic pols have abandoned union-hall values for country club shibboleths. If you doubt that, you must not read the election returns.
Thomas Suddes is a former legislative reporter with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University. You can reach him at tsuddes@gmail.com.
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