Murkowski votes to advance GOP megabill after early misgivings over Medicaid, SNAP cuts
Share and Follow


Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) voted “aye” on Saturday night to advance the GOP megabill to advance President Trump’s agenda after voicing serious misgivings in recent weeks about deep cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the legislation.

Murkowski was one of the last senators to vote for the legislation and was quickly surrounded by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and members of his leadership team when she walked onto the floor, after many of her GOP colleagues had already voted.

Murkowski had declined to say for days how she would vote as she negotiated changes to the bill behind closed doors.

She was particularly worried about how changes to Medicaid’s and SNAP’s work and eligibility requirements would affect Alaska.

Murkowski questioned whether Alaska’s relatively antiquated systems for delivering benefits would be penalized for having higher error rates and lose out on substantial federal funding.

She won a victory Friday night when GOP leaders added language to the revised text of the bill that made Alaska eligible for waivers from new SNAP work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependent children.

GOP leaders increased a rural hospital relief fund from $15 billion to $25 billion and made other legislative changes to provide more money to Alaska’s hospitals and health care providers.

They also added a provision to let whaling captains write off up to $50,000 in expenses.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like

Who is Julian Brown? Inventor behind viral Plastoline project

JULIAN Brown is an inventor and influencer who rose to prominence for…

Haunting moment TikToker records her own death after she screams at gun-toting pal ‘shoot me twice in the head’

THIS is the haunting moment a TikToker recorded her own death after…

Tommy Robinson shouts ‘you saw him come at me’ as man lays ‘unconscious’ on floor after St Pancras ‘assault’

TOMMY Robinson has been filmed shouting “you saw him, he came at…

Pete Buttigieg says Dems are too attached to a 'failing' status quo

In a recent interview with NPR, Pete Buttigieg shared some powerful thoughts…

Trump should keep the ‘zero-to-zero’ tariff policy on pharmaceuticals 

President Trump has reached a trade agreement with the European Union, imposing…

Rebuilding California: Connecting Policy and Culture for Positive Change

Some say we have to “win the culture” before policy can change.…

Tsunami warnings LIVE: First waves hit Hawaii after 16ft surge pummels Russia as monster 8.8 earthquake rocks Pacific

A MONSTER earthquake has struck the Pacific leading to tsunami waves lashing…

Heartbreaking vid shows giant whales washed up on Japanese beach after Russian mega quake sparks tsunami warnings

HEARTBREAKING footage shows giant whales washed up on a beach in Japan…