In recent weeks, we’ve had a lot to say about how the “Big Beautiful Bill” will shred the U.S. safety net.
This week in OtherWords, Ta’Kyla Bates continues our coverage, highlighting how the law’s draconian SNAP cuts will force millions of Americans to go hungry — and red states will be especially impacted. And Kali Daugherty worries about what the law’s steep Medicaid cuts will mean for kids like her son, who’s flourished under autism therapies made possible by the program.
But also this week, Feleecia Guillen highlights a much less covered provision in the law: its somewhat surprising renewal — and expansion! — of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA. RECA makes it possible for Americans sickened by nuclear weapons testing, uranium mining, and related causes to get compensation from the government.
That’s good news — but as Felicia warns, the impact could be overshadowed by those health care cuts. “I welcome the long-overdue recognition of downwinders from New Mexico and other impacted communities in RECA,” she writes. “But what does that mean if those same people are losing access to health care? Many rely on Medicaid and rural hospitals. If those lifelines vanish, how will they get diagnosed, let alone treated?”
Finally, human rights researcher Belkis Wille shares some of her damning findings on the brutal conditions in Florida’s immigrant detention facilities. “Shackling innocent people, denying them basic medical care, and forcing them to eat like animals isn’t ‘law and order,'” she writes. “It’s lawless.”
New This Week…
Red States Are About to Go Hungry Thanks to Trump | Ta’Kyla Bates
GOP lawmakers are taking food out of the mouths of kids — including their own constituents — to put toward tax cuts for billionaires.
More Americans Can Get Compensated for Nuclear Poisoning — But There’s a Catch | Feleecia Guillen
A hard-won expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was paired with cuts that will devastate health care access.
We’re Locking Up Innocent Immigrants and Calling It Justice | Belkis Wille
Shackling innocent people, denying them basic medical care, and forcing them to eat like animals isn’t “law and order.” It’s lawless.
Kids With Autism Deserve Care, Not Cuts | Kali Daugherty
My son has flourished with autism therapies made available by Medicaid, which millions of families are now at risk of losing.
In Case You Missed It…
The Texas Floods Are a Warning: Fund Public Services | Chisom Okorafor
We need to shine a light on all the good that “invisible” public services like the National Weather Service do.
Until We Raise the Minimum Wage, Tip! | Chris Mills Rodrigo
Annoyed about tipping? The solution is simple: tell employers to pay workers what they deserve.
Politicians Are Betraying Gen Z on Climate | Olabisi Omoniyi-Alake
While Gen-Zers thrift, knit, crochet, and find other ways to reduce our footprints, Trump and the GOP are greenlighting more climate chaos.
These Immigrants Were Supposed to Be Protected. Trump Came for Them Anyway. | Emily Rodriguez
Attacks on TPS holders like my uncle — people who work hard, follow the rules, and make this country great — hurt all of us.
