SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — United States Senator Mark Kelly hosted a town hall in Sierra Vista on Thursday afternoon to discuss Medicaid and food assistance cuts.
"This affects real people and it hurts them,” he said.
The reconciliation bill proposes cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and other programs aimed at helping low-income families. Kelly, spoke to a full room at one of Chiricahua Community Health Center's buildings in Sierra Vista. He says he will not the proposed bill and hopes it doesn't make it to the President's desk in its current state.
"The best change is to just tank the bill entirely and get rid of it," Kelly said. "Now, that doesn't mean everything in it is bad, you know, I do want to see a tax system that doesn't raise taxes on middle and working class people."
Cochise County resident Tara Clayton told the senator and the people in the room about how the services helped her.
“This will impact everyone, whether you think it will impact you or not,” Clayton said.
She says having food stamps, state health insurance, and other services helped her change her life.
"I credit my mom to kind of holding boundaries with me and saying, 'honey, my taxpayer dollars pay for these programs. and so instead of asking me for money, let me direct you to the resources that you can utilize that will help you get what you need',” she said.
The single mom says she was struggling with active addiction, but services allowed her to change her behaviors and provide a better life for her family. Including graduating from college and earning a degree.
"I think that it's impactful that we're able to share our stories because people connect with our stories, they don't connect with facts the same way that they connect with other human beings,” Clayton said.
People, Kelly says are being forgotten about— especially in Arizona.
"Every republican house member in the state of Arizona voted for these cuts," he said. "(He) voted to kick 300,000 Arizonans off of access— a program created in Arizona, by Arizonans.”
Kelly knows how he'd vote on the current bill, but says having a town hall allows him to take impact stories back to Washington D.C. to share with this colleagues.
“Just hearing from folks about their personal situation, about how this affects them about their what they're thinking about, and then also, you know, just to know that we have that the impacts on this community here in Cochise County is going to be significant," Kelly said.
He says there’s still time for changes, and a chance for the house to have a second look. Which is why he is encouraging people to continue to voice their concerns and share their stories.
“They're going to have another opportunity to vote on it again because there's likely to be some changes in the senate, maybe we can kill it in the senate,” Kelly said.
----
STAY IN TOUCH WITH US ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
- Download our free app for Roku, FireTV, AppleTV, Alexa, and mobile devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
——-
Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
