Gop Tax Scam Hurts Women and Families

Floor Speech

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Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, when I first met Atalina, she was on the front lines of the pandemic, keeping families housed and fed. When fires ravaged Maui, she was there for the victims.

Atalina is a pillar of her community and her church. She gives everything she has to others, but even angels need help.

Atalina is the mother of five, soon to be six. Her husband, who is battling cancer and now severe back injuries, can't work consistently. Atalina still works full time and still serves her neighbors and community.

``If I put my entire family on my employer insurance,'' she told me, ``it would cost more than half my paycheck.''

Medicaid gave her family access to lifesaving care. SNAP made sure her kids didn't go to bed hungry. These programs aren't ``handouts,'' she says. ``They are lifelines.''

Now, because her income barely crossed the threshold, she has lost SNAP. ``It doesn't mean we can suddenly afford groceries,'' she says. ``It just means we sacrifice even more.''

If we cut Medicaid and SNAP, we are not trimming fat. We are cutting hope.

Let's be clear about the false choice we are being asked to make. Do we feed the greed of billionaires, or do we feed and care for families like Atalina's? We know who Republicans are choosing.

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