Three Democratic Congresswomen from South Florida are hosting events this week to brief residents on Medicaid cuts and budget changes under the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” President Donald Trump signed last month.
U.S. Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Frederica Wilson will each host a town hall-style function, though there will be some overlapping participation.
Wilson’s event will kick off the three-day calendar Wednesday with her “Teletown Hall on Our Democracy, Health, and Future.”
Angela Rye, a former Executive Director and General Counsel of the Congressional Black Caucus, will moderate the event, which is set to run 6:30-8 p.m., ET.
Speakers include U.S. House Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, former U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, former U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su, Americans for Immigrant Justice Executive Director Sui Chung and former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who served as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary under ex-President Barack Obama.
Additional topics will include cuts to the Affordable Care Act, reductions in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, and changes to student loan programs. Participants are also expected to discuss Republicans’ support of the measure, which Wilson previously called the “Big, Ugly Bill” and “one of the most vicious, heartless, and morally bankrupt pieces of legislation” she had ever seen as a federal lawmaker.
“I’m hosting a tele-town hall because the Big, Ugly Law is doing real damage to the communities I represent — and I refuse to let folks get blindsided by the changes made,” Wilson said in a statement Tuesday.
“From cuts to healthcare and food assistance, to student loan changes, this law is heartless. On top of that, we’re facing a national crisis with an administration pushing authoritarianism day-in and day-out. We have to fight back and that’s why I’ll be giving an update on what’s happening in Washington D.C. alongside national leaders.”
Attendees can access the remote event via livestream or by calling (866) 295-1797.
On Thursday, Cherfilus-McCormick is hosting an in-person town hall with the NAACP from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Mount Hermon African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Marsha Ellison, President of the NAACP’s Fort Lauderdale/Broward Branch, and retired circuit court Judge Ilona Holmes will join Cherfilus-McCormick as speakers.
“We’ll be addressing the threats to essential services under the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill and discussing how these changes could impact our community,” she said in a statement.
Then on Friday, Wasserman Schultz will give a 9 a.m. community update at the Broward County Commission chambers about the legislation, Trump’s various executive orders and Florida budget cuts.
Cherfilus-McCormick will join her, as will Broward County Mayor Beam Furr and Democratic state Reps. Marie Woodson and Daryl Campbell, who serve as House Minority Whip and House Minority Deputy Whip, respectively.
“Republicans know how unpopular their harmful, billionaire bailout agenda is and are too petrified to stand in front of their constituents to defend it. But we Democrats talk to the people we represent every day, and we’ll share how Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill steals healthcare coverage and other vital services from millions of middle-class Florida families — and how it’s all been done to hand billionaires huge tax breaks,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement.
“This cruel GOP agenda does nothing to lower costs or make life more affordable, and it needs to be exposed.”
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