October 23rd, 2025
In this issue:
- WA lawmakers confront reality of cuts coming from One Big Beautiful Bill
- Washington families brace for Trump‘s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ impacts
- Shifting Medicaid costs to WA will be more expensive for all of us
- These Washington billionaires are some of the richest in the country for 2025
- Most Americans say taxing the rich is best way to reduce federal debt: Gallup
“Every month, I receive my basic food package, which includes eggs, milk, fruit, and bread – enough to last a week. I have already seen reductions in the program. Just last month, we were provided fewer groceries than before.”
That’s what Julia Perez, a mother in Yakima, shared at our recent press conference about how her family is feeling the effects of the federal cuts to SNAP. She’s not the only one.
Reverend Jan Bolerjack, a Pastor in Tukwila, said, “Prior to probably a year ago, we were giving about 50 pounds of food to every family that came through, and families could come through three times a week to the food pantry. Now, families can only come once a week and they’re getting about 15 pounds of food.”
Congress’s cuts in the Big Ugly Bill are having real effects on real people. Now, it’s up to elected leaders in Washington state to respond. As we prepare for the 2026 legislative session, we’ll be working closely with our partners and lawmakers to pass legislation that makes the wealthy pay what they owe so we can fund the programs that families depend on.
Thank you,
Treasure
P.S. If you haven’t weighed in on our Core Activists Survey, this is your last chance!
WA LAWMAKERS CONFRONT REALITY OF CUTS COMING FROM ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL
Julia Perez from Yakima said at Thursday’s news conference that families like hers struggle to afford groceries and pay bills. “H.R. 1 is poised to strip away programs that keep food on the table for millions of families like mine,” the mom of three said in Spanish, which was then relayed in English by a translator.
Roger Haick worked for 35 years as an ICU and cardiac nurse in Eastern Washington. He said that since the new law passed, Providence Hospital in Chewelah has closed certain services in anticipation of Medicaid cuts. Staff have also left the community for other work.
More – Simone Carter, The Olympian
WASHINGTON FAMILIES BRACE FOR TRUMP’S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ IMPACTS
Faith leaders say food insecurity is growing statewide. Pastor Jan Bolerjack, who leads Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila — a congregation that shelters asylum seekers and runs a food pantry — says food banks can no longer keep up.
“I looked in a bag the other day and it was a jar of chili sauce, two onions and coffee — now tell me how you make a meal out of that,” Bolerjack said.
She says donations from partners like Food Lifeline and Northwest Harvest have dropped sharply, leaving families with less and forcing her church to cut back from serving multiple times a week to just once.
More – Alejandra Guzman, FOX 13
SHIFTING MEDICAID COSTS TO WA WILL BE MORE EXPENSIVE FOR ALL OF US
Our state health care system is facing big challenges, but the solutions are simple.
Preserve Apple Health access. Keep medications affordable. Pay for telehealth. While you’re at it, protect the financing tools that stabilize safety-net care.
Let health centers do what we do best: solve problems early, in the lowest-cost setting. Let’s stop paying more for worse outcomes. Keep care in clinics, not the ER.
More – Blake Edwards, The Seattle Times
THESE WASHINGTON BILLIONAIRES ARE SOME OF THE RICHEST IN THE COUNTRY FOR 2025
Washington state is the home of Microsoft, Amazon and other global brands, plus storied sports teams, iconic landmarks and natural wonders — and it’s also home to six of the 400 richest people in the U.S., according to a new list by Forbes.
Most, if not all, of the Washington billionaires on the list are likely familiar names.
They live in and around Seattle, and they have a combined net worth of more than $340 billion, per Forbes. To put that in perspective, their combined wealth is more than four times the state’s roughly $78 billion operating budget for 2025-27.
More – Sara Schilling, The News Tribune
MOST AMERICANS SAY TAXING THE RICH IS BEST WAY TO REDUCE FEDERAL DEBT
Raising income taxes for wealthy Americans is the most popular way of reducing the federal debt, according to the latest Gallup poll.
Only two proposals receive a majority support of U.S. adults: 63 percent back “increasing income tax rates for upper-income Americans,” and 54 percent support “increasing tax revenues by making major changes to the current federal tax code.”
More – Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill
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