How Trump's "big, beautiful bill" could affect Miami
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President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" could hurt low-income Miamians who rely on food stamps and government-subsidized health care.
The big picture: Trump's tax and spending bill will slash federal funding from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which nearly a quarter of Miami-Dade County households rely on for groceries, according to the Miami Herald.
- Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill's passage will leave nearly 2 million Floridians without health care by 2034, a result of new Medicaid rules and the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Palm Beach Post reports.
How it works: The bill, which reduces federal payments to states for SNAP benefits, would require states like Florida with high payment error rates to pay between 5% and 15% of their total food stamp costs beginning in 2028.
- States that can't afford to pay their share of SNAP benefits might cut benefits or opt out of the program, per the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Meanwhile, new work requirements for some Medicaid recipients and requirements that states conduct eligibility checks twice a year could lead to higher state costs and coverage loss for enrolled Floridians.
What they're saying: "If you're someone who relies on social programs, you're going to be negatively affected," University of South Florida economics professor Michael Snipes tells Axios Tampa Bay.
- Food banks, like Feeding South Florida, have warned that SNAP cuts could increase food insecurity.
- In Miami-Dade, Feeding South Florida estimates that 400,000 residents don't have enough food to eat or know where their next meal will come from, the Herald reported.
- Feeding South Florida says the county's food insecurity rate is up 50% from 2019, per the Herald.
The other side: Proponents of the bill, which will cut $4 trillion in taxes, say changes to Medicaid and food stamps will curb abuse and encourage able-bodied people to work to receive government benefits.
- Miami bartender Hugo Llanos told CBS Miami that the bill's "no tax on tips" provision — which allows workers to deduct up to $25,000 of tipped earnings — would add "a little bit more money in the working people's pockets."