Gov. Josh Stein on Wednesday urged North Carolina’s congressional delegation to oppose the Senate’s version of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” warning it could strip health insurance from more than a half million residents by cutting Medicaid and Marketplace subsidies, and cost the state federal food assistance.
In a letter to North Carolina's 14 U.S House representatives, Stein said the bill could force the state to pay $420 million a year to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance program, or risk losing it entirely.
Stein also raised concerns about the clean energy sector, saying the loss of tax credits could cost up to 45,000 jobs and raise electricity bills by $275 a year for the average family.
One of the state’s largest food banks has also begun voicing concerns. SNAP currently helps 1.4 million North Carolinians — about half of them children. Jason Kanawati Stephany with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC tells WUNC that if the program were to go away, local food banks would be unable to fill the gap.
"We have 70,000 volunteers a year who come through our doors. We have as many grassroots donors, and even that support cannot make up for the cut that we're talking about here," he said, adding that the cuts could also hurt grocers and farmers who rely on SNAP dollars.
