MADISON, Wis. (LT. GOV. SARA RODRIGUEZ PRESS RELEASE) - Today, in an effort organized by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez has joined nearly 900 state and local elected officials in signing a bipartisan letter opposing proposed federal budget cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and other essential public services.

The letter warns that deep reductions at the federal level, along with increased administrative burdens, would cause massive budget shortfalls and shift an unsustainable financial strain onto states. As a result, officials say, states and municipalities would be forced to make deeper cuts to programs that support local economies and public well-being — from health care to public safety.

“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,” the letter reads in part. “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.”

Rodriguez, a registered nurse and former public health official, has long advocated for accessible, affordable health care and resilient community infrastructure.

“Every dollar we take out of these programs today will cost us many more in uncompensated care, lost productivity, and preventable illness tomorrow,” Rodriguez said.

“Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other critical public services aren’t just line items in a budget — they’re decisions that impact real lives across Wisconsin,” she said. “Slashing these essential programs is more than fiscally irresponsible; it’s dangerous. It jeopardizes health outcomes, strains our hospitals and families already under tremendous pressure, and forces local governments to do more with less.”

Rodriguez is Wisconsin’s 46th lieutenant governor. She has spent her career working to expand access to care, improve patient safety and strengthen public health systems.

The full text of the letter can be found below, and a copy of the letter with signers is linked here.

We, the undersigned state and local officials, are writing to express our opposition to the reconciliation bill (H.R. 1) and ask you to protect the public services our communities depend on. By cutting Medicaid, SNAP and other critical public services, this bill threatens to destabilize state and local budgets and force deep cuts across the board that will diminish public services and hurt working families nationwide – all to give billionaires tax breaks.

Medicaid accounts for the largest portion of federal funding to state budgets and is the largest funder of long-term care services in the U.S. Without this critical funding and due to other provisions in the bill, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates roughly 15 million people will lose their health coverage and become uninsured by 2034. The cuts outlined in H.R. 1 will also mean nursing homes, hospitals, home care and other critical health care services will disappear, leading to job losses in the health care sector. As people lose Medicaid coverage, hospitals and providers will face an estimated $48 billion in uncompensated care costs. Altogether, this will place an incredible strain on states, cities and towns and other local governments and will cost lives.

Moreover, the bill’s proposed work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries will impose huge costs on states, including adding compliance systems and a need for greater staffing at agencies that are already understaffed. Experience in Arkansas and Georgia shows that work requirements do not result in more people working. They actually lead to huge losses in coverage for workers due to red tape. The reality is these provisions will result in cuts and needlessly harm our country’s most vulnerable populations who need Medicaid to live.

The bill also shifts $300 billion in costs to states and local governments for both the benefits and administrative costs of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This provision threatens the food security of more than 40 million Americans including one in five children. There will be no way for state governments to cover all these new expenses without making cuts to other critical services like our schools or roads.

The bill also automatically triggers historic cuts to Medicare, which will spell disaster for seniors. As critical health care services are ripped away from seniors, their families will struggle to care for them. That will place huge costs on our workforce, our economies and our communities.

Taken together, the cuts that are included in H.R. 1 will place an impossible burden on states. Forced to make up for the massive shortfalls in federal funding, every sector of our state and local economies will suffer, from health care to higher education, public safety to public schools. Services that our communities rely on will be slashed; and the people who provide them may be furloughed or laid off.

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.

America’s state and local elected leaders urge you to vote against this damaging and reckless plan. The health, safety, and well-being of our communities are too important.

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