why athens must fight the “Big, Beautiful Bill”:

This bill will impact Athens in a lot of “BIG” ways and unfortunately a negative impact for most Athenians. This bill will mostly benefit those households that have an income of over $2 Million dollars a year (If you are one of the few households in Athens making $2M+ a year and you are signed up for my newsletter, kudos to you! HERE is my donation link! Know though, that my policies and leadership will not be prioritizing you). The median area income for Athens is $51,655, meaning that Trump’s Bill is going to hurt, or at least not help, more than 99% of Athenians. 

We need a Mayor and leadership who can navigate these troubling times and who will fight for the rights, safety, and needs of the people of Athens. This still might sound hyperbolic to some of you but I think most of us are realizing, we have in front of us an opportunity to save Athens, to save the United States, to save our humanity and compassion. Will we fight for Athens or will we calmly roll over?

"There has never been a single law in U.S. history that has hurt low-income households more, from both the largest Medicaid cuts and the largest SNAP cuts in history," said Bobby Kogan, a former lead analyst for the non-partisan Senate Budget Committee.

The bill will result in an average loss of $1,000 in income for families below the poverty line, which impacts 26% of Athens, an estimated 33,000 Athenians.

Here is a breakdown of some of the specific ways that the Big Beautiful Bill will impact Athens:

Healthcare:

• Medicaid is going to be cut by $1,000,000,000,000.00 (that’s $1 trillion) over the next 9 years. More than 15 thousand Athenians are on Medicaid currently (and many more applying). 53,000 Georgians in the GA-10 Congressional District (which Athens is in, and Rep. Mike Collins represents) are estimated to lose their health coverage now.

• This $1 Billion dollar cut will also impact the Children’s Health Impact Program (CHIP).
  It is estimated that nearly half of the children in Athens, Georgia are on CHIP.

• Medicare: the bill eliminates a provision that helps disabled individuals already receiving Medicaid to receive eligible Medicare benefits. The bill eliminates Medicare eligibility for people with lawful immigration status who have already paid into the program. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill will trigger $490 billion in cuts to Medicare from 2027 to 2034.

• An estimated 12,800 people in Athens receive Medicare benefits.

• The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 750,000 Georgians will outright lose their healthcare coverage.

Safety Net:

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

• The Bill reduces funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as “Food Stamps”, by more than $186,000,000,000.00 over the next 9 years. That is more than $186 Billion dollars. The CBO estimates that more than 12% of Americans (more than 5 million people) receiving SNAP benefits that they use to feed their families are at risk of losing them now. These are integral benefits that ensure that children, families, and the elderly receive adequate nutrition.

• In Athens-Clarke County, 16% of all households receive SNAP benefits, even though about 1 in 4 households within Athens-Clarke County are food insecure. That means, about 2,500 Athenians are estimated to lose their SNAP benefits.

• This new bill will now require all Athenians between the ages of 54 and 65 to have to meet work requirements or successfully complete a review of their disability every 6 months to still receive SNAP benefit.

• This bill now dictates that children between the ages of 14-18 will lose their SNAP benefits if the head of their household does not meet the work requirements and/or just 1 of the 6 month disability verifications.

Low-Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

• This bill cut ALL funding for the Low-Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which helps pay for energy costs for low income residents, and Georgians who are 65 or older or medically homebound. This is occurring at a time in Georgia where energy bills are soaring and heat temperature records are being broken every year. In 2020, 193,528 Georgia households received assistance through the LIHEAP program statewide.

ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement):

• The legislation makes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the largest federal law enforcement agency, funding the agency $100,000,000,000.00 (that’s $100Billion dollars) through 2024. That is more than tripling their current funding.

• It is estimated that between 16,000-25,000 immigrants live in the Athens-metro area, of varied legal statuses. These folks live and attend school at UGA and work in a multitude of industries.

• Nearly 10% (12,800) of Athens residents were foreign born.

Homelessness:

• This bill eliminated funding for the Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS (HOPWA). In 2024, 111 eligible Athenians received services through the HOPWA grant with 25 individuals residing in Transitional/Short-term housing facilities.

• This bill eliminates Homeless Continuum of Care funding and merges it into the already existing ESG funding. Athens-Clarke County received $1,057,754 in CoC funding last year for housing programs and homeless services.

Environment and Clean Energy:

• “It is not an overstatement to say this is the most anti-environment bill in history,” said Patrick Drupp, director of climate policy for the Sierra Club.

• The BBB now has the tax-incentives for creating solar and wind projects expire in 2027 and the bill creates a production tax credit for coal companies that could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

• ACC Gov has committed to a goal of 100% renewable energy by 2035, I was proudly one of the Commissioners to shepherd it through passage. ACCgov will be at 17% renewable energy by the end of 2025.

“I don’t want these solar things,” Trump told Fox News on June 29, “where they go for miles and they cover up a half a mountain that are ugly as hell.”

• The 940-page bill ends the consumer credits for purchasing new and used electric vehicles.

• The BBB ends the advanced manufacturing tax credits for clean energy and batteries. Over $27.3 billion in e-mobility investments have been announced in Georgia since 2018, including now more than 1,500 EV charging stations (which is the 3rd most for all US states). An estimated 887 jobs will be lost in the GA-10 Congressional District due to these cuts, which Rep. Mike Collins (GA-10, Rep) voted for.

• Georgia is due to receive $135 million in federal funds, Athens-Clarke County is due $5 million of that, from the infrastructure spending bill Congress passed to build EV charging stations. Unfortunately, President Trump’s administration has frozen the funding, and has not released it.