Louisiana is at the epicenter of a legal battle that could dismantle the federal Voting Rights Act, which aimed to nullify state and local laws that prevented Black Americans from voting. State leaders are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule a key provision of the landmark law unconstitutional. This move would allow the termination of Louisiana’s current map, which includes two Black-majority districts, and could affect how political boundaries are drawn nationwide. The Guardian’s Leah Litman provides critical context:
The case is part of a broad effort to not only reinterpret the Reconstruction amendments – the constitutional amendments passed after the civil war to ensure equal rights and due process – but also to weaponize them against democracy and civil rights. That conflict is being waged in both the supreme court and the White House, and its roots go back more than a century to the aftermath of the civil war. The big picture helps to underscore what is at stake: the future of the United States as a multiracial democracy.
Litman breaks down the dubious legal argument that is being used to undo Louisiana’s current congressional map, which Gov. Jeff Landry and the state Legislature approved:
Now the supreme court is being asked to find section two illegal – to say that considering political equality is a kind of discrimination. The argument is that prohibiting legislatures from discriminating against Black voters, by denying them political opportunities, actually discriminates against white voters.
The notion that the U.S. Constitution prevents leaders from considering race when making decisions and crafting policies is not based in historical precedent:
In the context of the VRA case, for example, “colorblind” constitutionalism would permit legislatures to redistrict in ways that result in white voters being overrepresented, but would prohibit laws from requiring legislatures to ensure that Black voters are represented as well. That is not being colorblind; it is racial hierarchy.
Rural health fund is inadequate
The federal megabill includes nearly $1 trillion in cuts over 10 years to Medicaid, a program that plays a larger role in providing health coverage to people living in small towns and rural communities than in metropolitan areas. While the new law includes a $50 billion fund to address rural health issues, that money won’t be enough to offset an estimated $137 billion reduction in federal Medicaid spending in rural areas. Adam Searing of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families explains:
The huge cuts to Medicaid clearly show the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Fund] is highly inadequate even if all of these funds will be invested in rural health care. Moreover, the fund is temporary – available for only five years – while the budget reconciliation Medicaid cuts are permanent. There is no explicit requirement that the funds actually go to support rural health care. The fund is therefore nowhere near comparable to the hit rural communities are going to take from Medicaid funding cuts in the budget reconciliation law.
Half of the $50 billion will be divided evenly among states. The other half will be awarded at the discretion of the Trump administration. Allison Orris and Gbenga Ajilore of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explain how states could miss out on funding – or have dollars rescinded – if they don’t adhere to the president’s policy goals:
States that advance policy choices that are in sync with these goals — such as restricting the use of SNAP benefits for certain foods, despite a lack of evidence that such limits improve diets — will be scored preferably. (The Center on Medicare & Medicaid Services) can claw back funding from states that do not finalize legislative or regulatory actions promoting these program goals on a specified timeframe and can redistribute them to other states.
How will Louisiana be affected by the shutdown?
The federal government partially shut down just after midnight on Wednesday as Congress failed to reach a funding deal. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Mark Ballard and Alyse Pfeil spoke with state leaders about how the gridlock will affect agencies and programs that Louisiana relies on:
With two hurricanes off the U.S. coast, the staff of National Weather Service will be working even though the agency has roughly 20% fewer employees as result of Trump’s government downsizing, according to NOAA’s contingency plan. Similarly, the Federal Emergency Management Agency workers will be on duty during the shutdown. “That doesn’t mean the employees working at those agencies would get a timely paycheck,” [Louisiana Senate President Cameron Henry] said, adding those employees are required to work but may not receive compensation until after the funding dispute is resolved.
There’s also uncertainty surrounding safety-net programs:
[State Rep. Jack] McFarland said the availability of funding for other federal programs administered by Louisiana, such as food stamps, will depend on how much money had previously been allocated and remains in agency reserves. The roughly 95,000 Louisiana residents who rely Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, better known as WIC, and 850,000 Louisiana residents who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps also won’t see any disruptions unless the shutdown continues for a few months.
Planned Parenthood shuts down operations in Louisiana
Louisiana is now the most populous state in the nation without a Planned Parenthood clinic after the organization shuttered two locations on Tuesday. The AP’s Sara Cline explains how the closures were due to mounting financial and political pressure rather than a lack of need for reproductive health care services:
Advocates and medical professionals fear that the organization’s departure will further exacerbate reproductive health care in a state that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country. In addition, a March report by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office noted the state’s significant OB-GYN shortage and health care deserts.
Cline provides a rundown of the services that Planned Parenthood provided to Louisiana:
Planned Parenthood provides a wide range of services, including cancer screenings and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. Federal Medicaid money was already not paying for abortion, but affiliates relied on Medicaid to stay afloat. In Louisiana, a state with one of the nation’s highest poverty rates, 60% of patients at Planned Parenthood clinics used Medicaid. Last year, the clinics in Louisiana provided nearly 30,000 tests for sexually transmitted infections, 14,400 visits for birth control, 1,800 cancer screenings and 655 ultrasounds.
Number of the Day
19,486 – Number of federal civilian employees in Louisiana. (Source: U.S. Congress)