📰BIDDEFORD | ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ leaves Mainers hungrier, sicker – and less free
~Featured Monthly Column~
By Senator Henry Ingwersen, District 32
"Although the Big Beautiful Bill has weakened – or destroyed – some of the critical social safety net programs that help Mainers address hunger, healthcare and human rights, there are still resources available in the state."
September 26, 20206, Over the past year, the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ has left Mainers hungrier, sicker – and less free. From hunger and healthcare to human rights, the Trump Administration continues to harm our family, friends and neighbors.
Hunger
The Trump Administration’s Big Beautiful Bill has been a complete disaster. More than 18,000 Mainers, including approximately 5,000 children, are no longer receiving SNAP benefits. They lost their benefits, not because they are earning better wages or higher incomes, but because the new federal law changed the eligibility criteria. The more stringent work requirements and the additional steps to prove eligibility have effectively taken away SNAP benefits from folks who still need the assistance. It also eliminated work exemptions for veterans, some legal immigrants and other vulnerable populations – families with children, older adults and Mainers with disabilities.
On top of this, the federal cuts to the GusNIP grant forced Maine Harvest Bucks to reduce its impact by half. Maine Harvest Bucks is a critical program that helps folks on SNAP purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets in their communities. If it wasn’t clear before, the Big Beautiful Bill leaves Mainers hungrier.
Healthcare
Starting in January, the Big Beautiful Bill jeopardizes MaineCare for Mainers, particularly those who received healthcare as part of the 2019 MaineCare expansion. At that time and since, the expansion helped over 78,000 Mainers – folks with lower incomes – receive healthcare coverage. Nearly half of those same Mainers are now projected to lose that coverage due to different eligibility criteria like increased work requirements. For folks with significant health issues, or those in rural areas with limited employment options, it can be especially challenging to log 80 hours of attending school, working or volunteering every month. The opportunities simply don’t exist, and the cost of gas or the lack of reliable transportation can be major barriers. The result will be sicker Mainers.
At the same time, at least 600 immigrant families will lose their healthcare, too. And, according to Maine Public and state officials, that number is a low estimate. The total is likely closer to 900. These legally present asylees, refugees and other noncitizens who do not have green cards will lose their full MaineCare coverage on Oct. 1, being left with limited emergency-only coverage.
The result of both these cuts will be sicker Mainers.
Human Rights
The Big Beautiful Bill provided $30 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Despite the lack of accountability and concerns over training and vetting, the money is still going to support the agency. According to the Portland Press Herald, ICE has grown its staff by 44% in Maine over the last year.
In the aftermath of the killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, this is completely unacceptable. We are still waiting for the results of that investigation, but ICE continues to persist – and grow – in our community and our state. Between “Operation Catch of the Day” and the killing of Guerrero, Maine residents rightfully feel less safe – and less free – in their homes, public spaces and workplaces. It is time to get ICE out of Maine.
Mainers are resilient, and they work hard. We take care of our neighbors. And we will keep doing so. If you are looking for help, send me an email at Henry.Ingwersen@legislature.maine.gov, or call my Senate office at (207) 287-1515.
I’m not going to give up, and I hope you don’t either.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sen. Henry Ingwersen represents Senate District 32, which includes Arundel, Biddeford, Dayton, Hollis and Lyman. He is currently finishing his second term in the Maine Senate and serves as the Senate chair of the Health and Human Services Committee and as a member of the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee.
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