July 16th, 2025
In this issue:
- Survey suggests parents of all political stripes want child care action
- Keep government working for everyday people
- Why Washington faces huge fallout from the Medicaid cuts in Trump’s megabill
- Trump Signs Bill to Kick Millions Off Health Care Into Law
- Washington faces billions in Medicaid cuts under spending bill
A new survey showed that 81% of parents think expanding access to quality childcare should be a high priority for state and national lawmakers. And yet, what did we just get from Congress? More budget cuts, and more pressure on Washington families that are already stretched thin.
Here’s the truth: We can’t fund childcare, healthcare, or education at the levels families need until the wealthy start paying what they owe. Our tax code is broken and our families are paying the price.
Here are two ways to step up and help right now:
- RSVP to our July 17th Zoom Activist Briefing where we’ll talk about how we and our partners are responding to the cuts handed down from D.C – and how you can take action to send a message to lawmakers.
- Join one of the many “Families First” rallies across the country on Saturday, July 26th to send one clear message to policymakers:We come first. Not billionaires. Not corporations. Click this link to RSVP!
Thank you!
-Treasure
SURVEY SUGGESTS PARENTS OF ALL POLITICAL STRIPES WANT CHILD CARE ACTION
Parents on the right, left and in between want lawmakers to prioritize broadening access to quality child care that people can afford, according to a national survey of 600 parents released last month, commissioned by Child Care Aware of America.
Eighty-one percent of parents said expanding access to quality and affordable child care should be a top or high priority for state and national policymakers.
“Child care is a priority, and they want action,” said Anne Hedgepeth, chief of policy and advocacy at Child Care Aware of America.
More – Claire Withycombe, The Seattle Times
KEEP GOVERNMENT WORKING FOR EVERYDAY PEOPLE
In rural Washington, we deserve better. In the next few weeks, our U.S. House of Representatives will get to vote on a final bill that could gut Medicaid, food assistance, and housing support, and eastern Washington Congressman Dan Newhouse could be a deciding vote.
This means Representative Newhouse has a choice: he can break rank with the corporate elite and stand with the people he represents — or he can help the rich get richer while his own constituents lose care, housing and stability.
In small towns and rural communities across the state, we’re ready to show up. People like us and so many more, are standing up to protect Medicaid, defend what’s ours, and remind ourselves that our government should work for us, not billionaires. We’re calling on eastern Washington Congressman Dan Newhouse to choose a side: will he stand with us — or with the billionaires?
With so much at stake, we hope he chooses us. That would be a Representative Newhouse legacy we’d remember.
More – Elana Mainer and Teresa Bendito, Methow Valley News
WHY WASHINGTON FACES HUGE FALLOUT FROM THE MEDICAID CUTS IN TRUMP’S MEGABILL
Justin Gill, the president of the Washington State Nurses Association, expects to see more uninsured and sicker patients who’ll further strain an already overstretched workforce.
“We’re going to try and do the best that we can, but when the systems around us are working against us, at some point, you’re going to see providers, nurses really kind of start to identify that this may not be something that’s sustainable for them individually,” he said. “And I think that that’s a realistic threat that oftentimes people won’t really appreciate until we get there.”
Gill, an urgent care nurse practitioner in Everett, is frustrated with lawmakers who voted for the legislation but won’t have to sit in the exam room when a patient comes in with a heart attack that could’ve been prevented with primary care visits.
More – Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard
TRUMP SIGNS BILL TO KICK MILLIONS OFF HEALTH CARE INTO LAW
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) teed off on the cuts during a marathon speech ahead of the bill’s passage on Thursday, sharing stories of Americans who will stand to lose Medicaid coverage because of the bill. “People will die,” he said, calling the House floor where the bill would soon be passed a “crime scene.”
In his remarks, Trump mocked Jeffries. “You saw that guy standing up for hours yesterday, didn’t know what he was even doing there,“ he said as he lambasted the Democrats’ advocacy against the bill as a “con job.” “He had a towel. He’s wiping his face. That’s not too elegant.”
More – Ryan Bort, Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone
WASHINGTON FACES BILLIONS IN MEDICAID CUTS UNDER SPENDING BILL
“It’s difficult to overstate how devastating these cuts will be to Washingtonians,” Ferguson told reporters Wednesday. “They will bring our health care system to the brink and harm people in every corner of our state.”
An analysis by KFF, a health policy research group, estimated the legislation will cause Washington to receive about $41 billion less in federal Medicaid funding over 10 years. That’s roughly 19% less than the state would have received without the law, the outlet found.
More – Melissa Santos, Axios Seattle
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