💸 188,000 Utahns Could Lose Health Coverage After Senators Curtis and Lee Help Pass the Big Billionaires Bill
The U.S. Senate passed the One Big Billionaires Bill yesterday with help from both of Utah’s senators, John Curtis and Mike Lee. The sweeping budget plan includes devastating cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, meaning an estimated 188,000 Utahns could lose health insurance. It also slashes support for SNAP benefits, clean energy tax credits, and other programs vital to working families. Once again, Curtis and Lee have sided with billionaires over basic decency. Utahns deserve leaders who protect their healthcare—not gut it so the ultra-rich can have a bigger yacht.
📎 SL Trib → |
☢️ RECA Expansion Offers a Win for Utah’s Downwinders
A silver lining in the Big Billionaires Bill: it includes a long-overdue expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). The program had expired last year, leaving many uranium workers and downwinders—particularly in rural and tribal Utah—without justice or aid. The new version restores and expands eligibility.
This is a hard-fought and well-deserved win. RECA expansion was led by a coalition of activists and survivors who refused to let their communities be forgotten. We honor them by holding Congress accountable to fully fund and implement it. 📎 Utah News Dispatch → |
📚 Trump Freezes $6.8 Billion in K–12 Funding, Schools Brace for Impact
The Trump Administration announced it is freezing nearly $7 billion in K–12 education funds, including support for after-school programs, migrant education, and English-language learners. Schools and districts across Utah are scrambling to assess the impact.
This is sabotage, plain and simple. These are the programs that help kids succeed—especially low-income, multilingual, and marginalized students. Freezing them now is cruel and shortsighted, and it demands a full-throated response from Utah’s education leaders.
📎 Utah News Dispatch → |
🔥 Drought and Heat Intensify, Statewide Water Crisis Looms
More than 91% of Utah is now in drought, and nearly half is in “severe drought.” Reservoir levels are dropping fast due to early snowmelt and relentless heat. Experts say the state is seeing July-like depletion patterns in June—a dangerous sign for the rest of the summer.
Utah’s climate crisis is not hypothetical. It’s here. And while Cox asks for “fasting and prayer,” Utah needs real leadership: aggressive conservation, sustainable water policy, and climate action grounded in science—not magical thinking. 📎 KSL Newsradio →
📎 KSL.com → |
🏘️ Condo Prices Drop—Just as Utah Tries to Build More of Them
A new report finds that condo prices are falling nationwide and in Utah, even as state officials promote condos as a key part of Utah’s starter-home strategy. The trend could make homeownership more accessible—or signal trouble for the market.
This is a rare moment where affordability is rising. Let’s not waste it. State leaders should make sure housing stays affordable, not just temporarily cheaper. That means rent caps, land-use reform, and public investment in housing for all. 📎 Deseret News → |
🎉 Cox and Marie Osmond Kick Off Utah’s America250 Celebration Governor Spencer Cox and Marie Osmond launched Utah’s year-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States yesterday, with events expected statewide. Honoring our nation’s founding means grappling with its full history—and fighting to make the promise of democracy real for everyone, not just the powerful. Let’s hope the programming goes deeper than fireworks and flags. 📎 KSL →
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📢 Demand Healthcare for All
188,000 Utahns are at risk. Join us at an event this afternoon to email or call your representatives and tell them to oppose Medicaid cuts.
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July 2 | 5:00pm | Fiddler’s, Salt Lake City
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