Senator Reed meets with service providers to discuss what cuts to social services will mean for Rhode Island

"They’re making mistakes about our community’s health and safety, which will cost lives. Literally. This is not an academic exercise," said Senator Reed. "This is about people surviving."

Senator Jack Reed

United States Senator Jack Reed met with community leaders to detail how Trump Administration cuts will impact Rhode Islanders - putting child care and preschool programs, home heating assistance, and other essential services at risk.

As the Trump Administration moves forward with mass layoffs of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees, congressional Republicans are attempting to advance a budget resolution that would make massive cuts to Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and other vital programs, some of which are carried out by local community action programs (CAPs).

Rhode Island is home to seven CAPs¹ that serve more than 190,000 Rhode Islanders. These organizations help connect low-income individuals and families with access to health care, job training and skills building, energy assistance, affordable housing, and more.

On Monday morning, Senator Reed joined Paul Salera, President & CEO of Westbay Community Action, and the leaders of all seven Rhode Island CAPs to discuss how the latest Trump cuts impact vulnerable citizens and local communities.

Senator Reed says that President Trump’s misguided actions and policies will negatively impact people who get help from community-based organizations for programs such as Meals on Wheels, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Head Start and childcare, and the Administration for Community Living (ACL). These federal agencies assist seniors to stay in their homes and access medical care. Moreover, said Senator Reed, firing these workers and shuttering agencies will not achieve actual cost savings. They could cost taxpayers more money and shift increasing tax burdens onto states and local communities.

Here’s the press conference video:

Paul Salera: I welcome everyone to West Bay Community Action. Today, we’re delighted to have Senator Reed and his entire staff to answer some of the tough questions we have going forward with the new administration’s cuts and the projected cuts. The Community Action Network in Rhode Island serves just about 190 to 200,000 Rhode Islanders every year and offers a plethora of services. I want to thank my fellow executive directors for being here in a great closed-door session with Senator Reed.

Senator Jack Reed: First, let me thank Paul and all of you for your great work. You’re in every community helping people who need help get on with their lives and become productive citizens. That’s what many people have defended and given their lives for in the uniform of the United States. You’re doing the work that is so important to this country. CAP agencies are about improving people’s lives, creating opportunities, and breaking the cycle of poverty. You’ve been doing this for 60 years, so thank you very much.

CAP agencies deliver critical federal programs in a way that is tailored to the community. That’s what makes it so special. What we do in Rhode Island is a little bit different than what they’re doing in Montana or places like that. It’s efficient because we are in the community. You are in the community. It’s a partnership that’s worked for Rhode Island and America for a long time. Now, the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress want to shred the social safety net and upend this federal-local cooperation and community partnership that has lifted so many Americans.

On Friday, the Republicans once again tried to advance an agenda that would gut Medicaid and social services to give a tax cut—a huge tax cut—to President Trump’s billionaire friends. People probably noticed that while the stock market was collapsing and the Republicans were voting on a reconciliation measure—a measure that would gut Medicaid—the president was playing golf in Florida with his billionaire friends. That’s a pretty good summary of where we are.

Unfortunately, Trump, Elon Musk, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. have taken a sledgehammer to the Department of Health and Human Services, cutting 20,000 professionals who helped CAP agencies each day, and they’ve done it carelessly. Just days after they announced these 20,000 cuts, Secretary Kennedy suggested they goofed a little bit because one out of every five people they fired was probably mistakenly fired. That’s how careful and calculated they are. Making critical mistakes like that is not unique. They probably made a mistake with LIHEAP, cutting critical people who help CAP Agencies deliver funds to people who need heat in the winter and cooling in the summer. They’re making mistakes about our community’s health and safety, which will cost lives. Literally. This is not an academic exercise. This is about people surviving. It’s another example of the Trump Administration plowing ahead with misguided cuts with no analysis whatsoever.

They cut people from the National Nuclear Security Administration. Three days later, they discovered they needed many of them back because the safety of our nuclear weapons was in jeopardy. If they’re so careless and shooting from the hip when it comes to protecting our nuclear arsenal - that is just beyond belief - but it’s happening. These are examples of the course he’s imposing on the American people, and the Directors of the CAP Agencies in the room with me know that better than anyone.

You see it in healthcare, where you can’t extend help to someone who needs it. You see it with Head Start programs, which give young people a chance to use their talents in school. We know children with Head Start do much better in elementary school, and those who don’t have Head Start don’t succeed in many cases.

We want to be efficient. The way they’ve set this up, we are efficient because what would make sense in Texas doesn’t make sense here in Rhode Island. We’ve developed a plan where you are directing these funds and doing it efficiently. If they cared about efficiency, they’d be talking to you, not Elon Musk.

We are in a very difficult situation, but we will prevail. We’re going to fight the good fight. We will make it clear that the cuts they’re proposing, particularly to Medicaid, will hurt every American in every state. I hope my Republican colleagues get the message so we can stand together for what’s right rather than what Trump wants.

Steve Ahlquist: Have we seen money stop flowing when CAP agencies attempt to draw down funds? Do you know if that has been an issue yet?

Senator Reed: They’ve made these headline announcements, and the details will follow. In some cases, we were seeing cuts. In some cases, it’s total confusion. No one knows how much is being cut or where it’s coming from. Again, he wants headlines and will work out the details later. Everything we’ve heard is cut, cut, cut, cut, cut programs that help people.

Steve Ahlquist: When you call the federal agencies, are people picking up, or is this an issue, too?

Senator Reed: It’s hard to find people to pick up because they’ve been decimated and confused. They don’t know what the affected programs are yet. If you get ahold of them, they will say, “We don’t know either.” It’s hard when you cut thousands and thousands of people and eliminate offices - they’re cutting federal offices in Rhode Island and elsewhere - the people who are left don’t have someone to turn to or before they pick up the phone, get connected and work it out.

Steve Ahlquist: Red states draw down, too. At some point, they’re going to be hit hard. Tennessee receives an extra $300 billion from the federal government every year to pay for its services. If we cut, Tenessee will be in worse shape than Rhode Island.

Senator Reed: It’s taken so long to clarify the precise cuts that we’re seeing Republicans going back and saying, "You can’t do this." Some Republican states have constitutional provisions that would require them to make up the difference by cutting federal Medicaid funds. They say, “Oh my God, we can’t do this. It’s going to blow our budgets up.” So that’s going around. But if they want to get this tax cut done, there are places to fill the coffers of their tax refunds. There’s a bit of confusion, but yes, Republicans will feel this too, and I hope before we get to that point, my colleagues will understand that and step up and say we can’t do it.

Steve Ahlquist: Do we have specific examples here in Rhode Island of people who are being impacted?

Paul Salera: Currently, we are relying on our federal delegation. Rhode Island is unique; they’re all a phone call away. Currently, we haven’t seen the effects. As of right now, we’re worrying about the what-ifs. As Senator Reed said, a lot of it is headlines. The problem that we’re doing is speculation. If this happens, we’re going to have to do this. If LIHEAP closes, 30,000 households in the State of Rhode Island won’t be able to heat or cool during the year. We’re in direct contact with Senator Reed’s office and hoping that a lot of this stuff is just headlines - just talk. Once a reconciliation budget comes around, we’ll get a better picture of what those cuts will be, if any, and how bad.

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The channel 12 reporter at the news conference asked two questions off the topic of CAP agency cuts:

Channel 12: What’s your reaction to the tariff impacts on the stock market? There are reports that he might pause tariffs for 90 days.

Senator Reed: It was a colossally stupid move. Most economists on both left and right said, “That’s not how you do things.” The results have been a collapse of the market. If he pauses for 90 days, there’ll still be uncertainty about whether he resumes them. He’s created an economic environment of so much confusion and doubt that it will be difficult for the market to stabilize and come back. He has a new idea every day, and most of them turn out very badly.

Channel 12: And what’s your reaction to the latest deportations to El Salvador? A Maryland man was accidentally deported there.

Senator Reed: Outrageous. Particularly, the administration is saying that they cannot bring the gentleman back, that they can’t do it. That’s nonsense. They can send the American ambassador to the jail or the appropriate location and ask for a return. This demonstrates the cruelty of this administration. There’s no excuse not to bring that gentleman back.

1. Rhode Island’s seven community action programs are Westbay Community Action, Community Action Partnership of Providence, Tri-County Community Action, Blackstone Valley Community Action, Community Care Alliance, East Bay Community Action, and Comprehensive Community Action.