Nat’l NAACP CEO Chides GOP For ‘Weaponizing Poverty’

NJG NewsWire
BALTIMORE, MD

The NAACP President and CEO, Derrick Johnson, has submitted letters to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressing “grave concern with actions of the congressional Majority and several Senate Democrats regarding the healthcare needs of everyday Americans.”

Johnson said,” The government shutdown weaponized the poverty of 41.7 million (12.3 percent) of Americans in need of SNAP food assistance against 44 million Americans who obtain health coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace and Medicaid expansion. Although ACA premium tax credits expire in December 2025 along with the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, the Majority and Executive Branch chose earlier this year to prioritize roughly 1,000 Billionaires by passing a $4 trillion tax cut and failing to renew the ACA Premium Tax Credits.”

The NAACP offered the House and Senate leadership a list of demands:

1.  Guarantee that healthcare coverage continues uninterrupted for 44 million Americans.
2. Extend the ACA Premium Tax Credits beyond one year to ensure a long-term solution, not a short-term fix.
3. Prioritize affordability and access, not just coverage. Premiums, deductibles, and networks all matter.
4. Ensure the budget deal reflects the values of the American people, many of whom are represented by the same officials who denied them food assistance and healthcare as political theater.
5. Exercise Constitutional authority to ensure the current administration follows the rule of law in the appropriations process.

The NAACP letter concluded with the statement, “Congress has a responsibility to govern in a manner reflecting the American values of fairness.”