EXPECT TOUGHER TIMES
FOR BLACKS AFTER PASSAGE
OF TRUMP’S “BIG BEAUTIFUL
BILL”
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Now that President Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” has been passed by Congress and signed into law, political observers, even here in North Carolina, say those living on the margins, especially in the black community, will suffer most because of the largest spending cuts ever, approximately $1 trillion, to the nation’s social safety net.
“With the passing of this destructive and rotten bill, Trump and GOP lawmakers have launched a direct attack on Black communities and the basic rights we fight for every day,” Kristin Powell, executive director of Black to the Future Action Fund, told The Grio. “This is not just evil and corrupt policy – it’s a deliberate dismantling of progress. But we have a choice: we can grieve, or we can fight back.”
And because the federal government has now cut back on the Medicaid (health insurance for the poor) and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ), that will place a greater strain on North Carolina’s resources.
Right before the final U.S. House vote last week, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein warned in a letter to North Carolina’s congressional delegation that the legislation was coming at a time when “…many North Carolinians…[sic] are worried about feeding their families, being able to continue seeing their doctor, or keeping their jobs,” adding that the law would, “…undo decades of bipartisan progress and harm the health, well-being, and economic security of people, families, and communities in our state.”
The governor further warned that Medicaid health insurance coverage would now “be stripped” from many of those receiving it in North Carolina, including the 670,000 recipients included in the 2023 Medicaid expansion. Work requirements will become more stringent for those considered to be “able-bodied.”
“Medicaid now provides critical health insurance to more than one in four North Carolinians,” Gov. Stein added. “…with North Carolina set to lose $39.9 billion in Medicaid funding over the next decade.”
The state would have to raise taxes to cover that loss or reduce services, Stein cautioned.
The governor also warned that rural hospitals were now placed at risk of closing, something Republican Senator Thom Tillis echoed when he refused to vote for the bill last week, and would not run for reelection.
As for SNAP, Stein noted that 1.4 million low-income North Carolinians, or 1 in 10, depended on food stamps from the federal food assistance program, and they are now at risk if the state has to assume primary responsibility for them. It also means rural and urban grocery stores will lose income, affecting jobs in those communities.
Finally Gov. Stein predicted as many as 45,000 jobs were now threatened across the state, along with $67 billion worth of economic activity because of cuts to the green energy industry.
With the exception of Sen. Tillis, all Republican members of the North Carolina delegation voted to ratify Trump’s bill, despite the dire ramifications it would have on their poor constituents back home.
The GOP point to features in the legislation that they say would help struggling North Carolinians, like the “no tax on tips or overtime pay” provision.
The problem with that, many political experts note, is that “no tax on tips or overtime” only applies to the first $25,000 an employee earns annually, and is only available until 2028. Meanwhile, because of drastic cuts to health care and other federal assistance services, their actual overall cost-of-living still goes up.
Still, North Carolina Republican congresspeople, like Tim Moore, said they were “proud” to vote for “…the largest tax cut in history for working Americans, strengthening Medicaid, securing the border [and] …cutting waste and holding Washington accountable.”
North Carolina’s Democratic congresspeople, however, were all thumbs down on Trump’s legislation.
Congresswoman Alma Adams called it “one big ugly bill,” that was “reckless” and “places tax breaks for billionaires over the basic needs of our families, gutting lifesaving programs like SNAP and Medicaid for millions of North Carolinians.”
Congressman Don Davis, who usually votes with Republicans, opined that “…the average hardworking family in eastern North Carolina will bear the brunt of [the bill’s] out-of-touch spending, as the wealthiest individuals …stand to benefit the most.”
Congresswoman Valerie Foushee called it an “…unconscionable and immoral bill that sacrifices health care, food security, and environmental protections for millions of Americans and abandons hardworking families to deliver tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.”
North Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Anderson Clayton further blasted Trump’s bill, stating, “As children go hungry, seniors are kicked out of their nursing homes, rural hospitals are closed, and taxes and energy costs skyrocket—we can’t forget that all of this cruelty was caused to cut taxes for the richest of the rich and the largest corporations.”
Pres. Trump signed the ratified bill into law on July fourth, saying that “America is winning, winning, winning like never before.”
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BLACK DUKE SICKLE CELL
RESEARCHER CALLS NIH
GRANT TERMINATION “RACIST”
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
A black sickle cell researcher at Duke University charges that the termination of her five-year, $750,000 grant from the federal National Institutes of Health (NIH) was “racist.”
According to NIH estimates, at least 90% of the 100,000 patients across the nation suffering from sickle cell anemia are black. It is an extremely painful blood disorder where red blood cells become sickle shaped, preventing proper flow through the bloodstream.
The disease causes lifelong health problems like strokes, infections and lung problems.
Dr. Charity Oyedeji, a Duke University School of Medicine hematology researcher, told WRAL-TV and other media media outlets across the nation that she received a letter from the NIH on June 16th, informing her that her grant was being slashed. That was bad enough, but the language used in the missive as to why, citing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), gave Dr. Oyedeji pause.
“The words that were used were very non-scientific, very racist,” she said. “Really negative language.”
According to published reports, the NIH letter stated in part, “Research programs based primarily on artificial and non-scientific categories, including amorphous equity objectives, are antithetical to the scientific inquiry, do nothing to expand our knowledge of living systems, provide low return on investment, and ultimately do not enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness.”
"I was very sick to my stomach when I first saw it," Dr. Oyedeji told NBC4-TV in Los Angeles. "... I just could not believe it."
The NIH letter then added, “DEI studies are often used to support unlawful discrimination on the basis of race and other protected characteristics ICO’s, which harms the health of Americans. Therefore, it is the policy of the NIH not to prioritize such research programs.”
When WRAL-TV asked the Trump White House why the sickle cell grant was being cut, the station reports, “Health and Human Services Communications Director Andrew Nixon responded… stating, “The study itself has value, however unfortunately it was funded under an ideologically driven DEI program under the Biden Administration. In the future these types of programs that NIH has committed to fund to help people with sickle cell and other important diseases will be reviewed based on their scientific merit rather than on DEI criteria.”
Dr. Oyedeji isn’t the only one convinced that racial bias played a role in the termination of not only her’s, and others’ government-funded biomedical research grants. According to the website, Medical Express, “A tracking database shows that more than 2,600 NIH grants totaling close to $9 billion have been canceled since President Donald Trump took office in January…”
On the same day that she received her NIH letter, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled that it was “illegal’ for the Trump Administration “…to cancel several hundred research grants adding that the cuts raise serious questions about racial discrimination.”
That judge, William Young, said that termination of those grants was “arbitrary and capricious” and did not follow long established rules for doing so.
During his hearing, Judge Young called it “palpably clear” that what was behind the government actions was “racial discrimination and discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community.”
After 40 years on the bench, “I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this,” Young added. He ended [that] hearing saying, “Have we no shame,” reported CNN.
Judge Young’s decision only addressed the termination of some of the NIH grants, meaning that Dr. Oyedeji’s was not included because it was not part of two lawsuits brought before the judge. Young’s decision is expected to be appealed by the Trump Administration.
However, after the judge’s ruling, The New York Times also reported that, “…a senior NIH official “has directed agency staff members not to cancel any additional research projects” in the wake of “two court rulings taking issue with the axing of medical research grants” by the Trump Administration. The internal memo marks a “retreat by the agency,” which has “slashed funding for medical research by ending hundreds of awards.” The memo, sent by Michelle Bulls, who helps oversee the agency’s external funding arm, reads, “Effective immediately, please do not terminate any additional grant projects.” It also instructs staff members to pause the cancellation of grants that were in the queue to be “terminated.” It is unclear “how long the directive” will “hold.”
It’s not clear how that June 26th directive affects Dr. Oyedeji, who has gone public with her story nationally and on social media in hopes of raising the money needed to continue her research.
But she’s also appealing the NIH decision.
"Even small disruptions in research can have really major negative impacts," Oyedeji told NBC4. “Evidence clearly shows that this type of research prolongs life, improves function – these grants were originally awarded because of their merit.”
Meanwhile, according to the University of Washington news service, “…NIH officials said they were continuing to categorize medical research grants based on whether they included topics disfavored by the Trump administration, even if they were not terminating those grants.
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