Siegel Calls on Congressman Mackenzie to Vote Down Deadly and Disastrous Cuts
Rep. Josh Siegel July 2, 2025 | 4:52 PM
ALLENTOWN, July 2 – President Donald Trump and Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s big bad abomination is the single largest cut to health care and food assistance in the history of our country. The U.S. Senate Reconciliation bill cuts over $1 trillion from Medicaid and $186 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next decade.
The bill is projected to reduce the number of insured Americans by 16 million, nearly erasing the progress made since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and kick nearly 2 million people off SNAP, said state Rep. Josh Siegel, D-Lehigh.
In Pennsylvania, projections indicate that more than 310,000 people could lose access to Medicaid and 144,000 could lose SNAP. Pennie, Pennsylvania’s exchange for health care insurance, is projecting an enrollment decline of 270,000 or nearly 50%. In total, the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Pennsylvania would experience a $53 billion dollar decrease in federal Medicaid spending over the next decade.
“Ryan Mackenzie and Donald Trump are lying through their teeth to the communities that supported them and believed in their promises. Work requirements are really paperwork requirements designed to disqualify and dissuade eligible working-class people from applying for benefits. Republicans need trillions to shovel tax cuts to the wealthy and savings can only come from kicking millions off federal programs that care for the poor and feed the hungry,” Siegel said.
Siegel’s constituents will be among one of the most heavily harmed by these devastating cuts. Fifty-seven percent of all 22nd Legislative District residents rely on some form of public health care. The district is among the top five in the state for total Medicaid and SNAP recipients. Forty-eight percent rely on Medicaid, and 38% of households are enrolled in SNAP. The House’s 22nd Legislative District is the fourth highest in both categories among the 203 districts in Pennsylvania.
“In the 7th Congressional District, more than 17,000 residents will lose Medicaid and nearly 6,100 will lose SNAP. Congressman Mackenize is voting to starve my constituents, deny children food and prevent hard-working Allentonians from getting health care. Most egregious of all, he’s cutting their lives short, ensuring men and women in the 22nd will lose years with their children, family and friends,” Siegel said.
The Affordable Care Act has been associated with a significant decrease in preventable deaths, and multiple studies have found that cuts to Medicaid will increase otherwise preventable deaths.
“Allentown and the Lehigh Valley will be devastated by these cuts, uncompensated care will rise, health care jobs will be lost, insurance premiums will increase, and people will be robbed of their health and wealth, so the richest Americans and corporations can get another tax cut they don’t need. This legislation is morally disgusting and fundamentally dishonest. Congressman Mackenzie and Donald Trump think we’ll just get over it or believe these cuts are immaterial, but they will leave my residents sicker, poorer and in pain,” Siegel said.