Washington, D.C. – Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Democrats held a press event to push back against the reckless Republican budget. They were joined by Mary Beth Cochran, who shared how she relies on SNAP and Medicaid to take care of her four adopted grandchildren. 

Mary Beth’s remarks as delivered: 

Hello. My name is Mary Beth Cochran, and I’m from Canton, North Carolina, where I’m still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Helene in September.

I’m a proud member of MomsRising and a constituent of representative Chuck Edwards.

I have custody of four of my grandchildren, ages 10, 12, 15 and 16, as their parents couldn’t care for them due to addiction, domestic violence and homelessness.

I’m here today to urge lawmakers to put families over billionaires and reject any cuts to the programs hardworking families like mine rely on.

Caring for my grandkids means the world to me, and I would not change it for the world.

I work hard to make sure they have everything they need, but I’m on fixed income and it’s never been easy.

I work a part-time job making $8 an hour at a coin laundry in my area to supplement my disability. My family is barely making it.

At times, I’ve had to skip refilling my prescriptions so my grandkids wouldn’t have to skip meals.

This shouldn’t be going on. This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. This is a world issue, a people issue.

We should be caring for our children. The children are the future.

This is what we need. We don’t need these cuts. Right now, I’m terrified because Republican leaders seem poised to take critical resources away from my family. 

Our children should be able to get the basic necessities they need.

They should be able to go to the dentist, get their teeth cleaned. The simple things.

I’ve even heard Head Start is under threat. Head Start helped my grandkids come out of their shells while preparing them for kindergarten.

Any cuts to these programs would be devastating. They would mean kids would go hungry and their education would suffer.

Our overall economy would be harmed. I don’t understand why any lawmaker would threaten programs that enable families to survive.

But it’s appalling to know that Republicans want to slash these programs so they can cut taxes for billionaires and corporations.

Instead, I want lawmakers to permanently expand the Child Tax Credit so our nation’s kids can thrive.

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