Congressional Republicans cannot reach their goal of cutting $1.5 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade without reducing Medicaid or Medicare benefits, according to a new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. The Washington Post’s Jacob Bogage explains why the GOP is pushing for the massive cuts:

[President Donald] Trump and the GOP are seeking to extend provisions of the president’s 2017 tax cut law — which would cost nearly $5 trillion — while also pushing hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending on border security, mass deportation campaigns and national defense investments. To do all that without sending the national debt soaring, Republicans are looking for spending cuts to pay for the new spending and lower tax rates. But Trump has said the GOP shouldn’t cut benefits for Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. 

The GOP budget blueprint, which narrowly advanced out of the House last week, instructs the committee responsible for health-care spending to find $880 billion worth of savings over the next decade. As the CBO notes, that’s not possible without cutting Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program:

Without those programs, funding within the Energy and Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction totals $381 billion, and of that amount, more than half is already paid for by collection programs or user fees. That means that even if the committee eliminated every program besides those safety net benefits, it would be able to save a maximum of $135 billion — far less than the $880 billion the budget calls for. “This analysis from the nonpartisan CBO confirms what we’ve been saying all along: Republicans are lying about their budget,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle (Pennsylvania), the top Democrat on the Budget Committee. 

Judge blocks devastating research cuts 

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a move by the National Institutes of Health to reduce a cap on indirect costs for research grants from 50% to 15%. The new policy, which came at the behest of the Trump administration, would have cut $4 billion that supports research programs at U.S. colleges and universities. States Newsroom’s Jennifer Shutt reports: 

Those costs cover the expenses that go along with research, but that aren’t directly associated with one specific project. They can include construction, maintenance, equipment purchases, utilities and administrative staff. (U.S. District Judge Angel) Kelley wrote in the 76-page decision that a preliminary injunction would prevent the NIH from bringing about “immediate, devastating, and irreparable” harm to research institutions.

LSU and Tulane University leaders warned last month about how the NIH cuts would hinder research and create crippling deficits at their schools. 


Louisiana officials weigh in on Trump’s targeting of FEMA

President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January to investigate, overhaul and potentially eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is a familiar presence in hurricane-prone Louisiana. In its place, Trump calls for providing states with federal “block grants” that they could use for disaster recovery. The Louisiana Illuminator’s Wesley Muller spoke to Louisiana officials about Trump’s move, misconceptions about FEMA, and why leaving disaster recovery to states is a bad idea: 

Many people mistakenly confuse FEMA’s role with that of first responders and local emergency operations officials, (former FEMA employee Andrea) Davis said. … Davis said Trump’s suggestion that the federal government can just hand over large sums of disaster funding to the states and then get out of the way is not practical. A version of that idea — Louisiana’s Road Home Elevation Incentive program — didn’t turn out well after the money was disbursed to the state, she said.

Trump to drop landmark suit against Louisiana plant

President Donald Trump is set to drop a landmark lawsuit against Denka Performance Elastomer in St. John the Baptist Parish, which alleged the facility presents an unacceptable cancer risk to the nearby community. The Biden administration sued Denka in 2023 over its release of chemical chloroprene, which is classified as a likely carcinogen. The Times Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Josie Abugov reports on the reaction from the predominantly Black community it will affect: 

[Concerned Citizens of St. John founding member Robert] Taylor said that for years, the local and state government failed to support the predominantly Black residents who were raising alarm over the public health and environmental issues in their area. For Taylor, this began to change when Biden entered office and put environmental racism, in which communities of color are disproportionately impacted by pollution, in the national spotlight. “Now, the situation has reverted back or gotten even worse because we’ve got a government here that’s so aggressive to the environment” and, Taylor alleged, unfair to the Black population in the region activists often refer to as “Cancer Alley.”

Fifth Ward Elementary School, which sits one mile away from the plant, is already slated to be closed due to high levels of toxic pollutants.


Number of the Day

0.21% – Percentage change in Louisiana’s population from July 2023 to July 2024. Louisiana had the slowest population growth in the nation during that timespan. (Source: Pew)