Federal Republican actions are a triple threat

Budget cuts, DOGE and tariffs disproportionately harm low- and middle-income Iowans and set the stage for tax cuts skewed to the ultra wealthy

April 2025 | PDF

1. Federal budget

Every member of Iowa’s delegation voted for a budget framework that would cut important services to help pay for tax giveaways skewed to the wealthy. Now Congress must craft a final budget. 

Republican leaders have been using smoke and mirrors to hide how much they plan to cut from areas like Medicaid and SNAP, which are lifelines for Iowans facing tough times. But math is math: there is no way to cut $1.5 trillion or more in spending — as they have promised their most extreme members — while protecting health care and food assistance. 

The plan would explode budget deficits even as it slashes services. It prioritizes tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% over helping struggling people make ends meet. 

Who will be hurt by Republican plans to cut Medicaid and SNAP?

740,000 Iowans depend on the programs for health care & help buying groceries:

Low-income children & their families
Low-wage workers
Unpaid caregivers
People with disabilities & other health problems
Nursing home residents

2. DOGE 

Aggressive executive actions, including those by Elon Musk’s DOGE, are slashing programs and employees that protect our health, safety and basic needs in the name of budget cutting. They have targeted a swath of essential services, including Social Security, services for refugees and veterans, Head Start, cancer research and tax enforcement to crack down on cheating among the rich. 

3. Tariffs

The administration has touted its radical tariffs — taxes on imported goods — as a revenue source to offset tax cuts skewed to the wealthy. Tariffs raise the costs of basic goods, hurting lower-income households the most, and ramp up recession risks. No one is immune from the pain of a recession, but lower-wage workers with less education are most vulnerable. 

Contact your members

Tell them: Stop putting the wealthy before everyone else. Instead, reduce the high costs families face and protect the services Iowans rely on.

U.S. House of Representatives

• Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (1st District) | (202) 225-6576

• Rep. Ashley Hinson (2nd District) | (202) 225-2911

• Rep. Zach Nunn (3rd District) | (202) 225-5476

• Rep. Randy Feenstra (4th District) | (202) 225-4426

U.S. Senate

• Sen. Chuck Grassley | (202) 224-3744

• Sen. Joni Ernst | (202) 224-3254

Members on key committees

Committees overseeing Medicaid

• Rep. Miller-Meeks (House Energy & Commerce)

• Sen. Grassley (Senate Finance)

Committees overseeing SNAP

• Rep. Feenstra (House Ag)

• Rep. Nunn (House Ag)

• Sen. Ernst (Senate Ag)

• Sen. Grassley (Senate Ag)