Florida NOW

For Immediate Release: June 20, 2025

President Julie Kent, Florida National Organization for Women (FLNOW), president@flnow.org

AMERICA BECOMES EVEN MORE CRUEL!

$4T added to the deficit, almost a $1T cut to Medicaid, a $300B cut to SNAP food assistance, $4T in tax breaks to wealthiest harms the health and wellbeing of all Americans especially the poor.

This budget also will cut support to food pantries and federal funding to 3 major public health agencies.

Thousands, maybe millions of people will die and/or go hungry.

Trump’s, Congress’ ‘big, beautiful bill’ is a lie. Behind its name are ugly realities and cruelties. This bill is a direct attack on the poor, working families, small businesses, and our environment. These are just some of the atrocities of the 900-page budget bill.

• The $4T in tax cuts for wealthiest results in top 1% receiving $100,000 tax cut each while the bottom 10% lose more than 4% in pay.
• The increase of $4 trillion to the national deficit is irresponsible and unsustainable. We won’t be able to pay the interest on our debt and support programs like Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, etc.
• An increase in Defense spending to $1 trillion dollars, more than the next 9 countries defense spending combined or 40% of all defense spending worldwide. Even half of this spending is unsustainable.
• The Medicaid cuts strip healthcare from 10 million Americans, including 5 million Floridians: 2.7 million children and 1.1 million seniors.
• The budget makes college unattainable for students with low incomes.
• Fraud cannot be used as an excuse in any of these programs since actual fraud is so small.
• Medicaid supports Planned Parenthood Clinics: The Medicaid cuts mean 200 clinics nationwide will close making STD testing and treatment, Mammograms, Reproductive Healthcare including contraception support unavailable to low-income people.
• Medicaid supports rural hospitals, many of which will have to close as they will not have funding to continue to provide care.
• Medicaid supports nursing homes, many of which will close and/or turn out clients.
• The additional Medicaid work requirements are bogus—68% of Medicaid adults are working in FL, same with SNAP.
• The $500 million cut to Medicare will hurt seniors mostly with increased out-of-pocket costs due to new restrictions on coverage and prescription drug benefits.
• SNAP funding is slashed, leaving over 3 million Floridians, including 1.4 million children, at risk of hunger.
• Funding for the Suicide Hotline is cut resulting in death of many of our children.

Total Medicaid spending in FL is $34.6B, two thirds is federal funds. FL pays $10B to $12B of Medicaid cost. FL can’t cover the gap this bill would create. FL, a state with balanced budget requirements, faces a deficit of over $2.8B.

Florida’s economy will take a hit—potentially losing 45,000 jobs and seeing a $4.5 billion decline in GDP.

Cutting Medicaid means a significant increase in the 5-to-10-year gap in how long people live in poor versus well off communities. People thrown off Medicaid will die—their life spans will be shorter. The lifespan difference now is 68 years old versus 78.  Changes to health care providers is likely to shorten life expectancy for all Floridians.

And let’s talk about jobs— Residential solar jobs in Florida—nearly 22,000 at risk, pushing the state backward in clean energy leadership.

Two Shameful Notes:

• Our representatives admit they won’t read this thousand-page bill before voting.
• A provision of the bill allows the government to ignore court rulings, undermining democracy and the rule of law.

Julie Kent, President of FL National Organization for Women, FL NOW, said, “We refuse to let this bill define our future. We demand policies that uplift families, protect healthcare, and safeguard our economy—not just for the wealthiest few, but for all Americans. $4T added to the deficit, almost a $1T cut to Medicaid, a $300B cut to SNAP food assistance, $4T in tax breaks to wealthiest harms the health of all Americans especially the poor and creates unsustainable debt. The 900 page bill is barbaric and will help to cause the demise of America as we know it. We will never stop showing up, calling and emailing our representatives and senators, signing petitions, and as we listen, talk to everyone you know about this terrible regime, this horrific budget.”

CALL TO ACTION

1. CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS IMMEDIATELY
   Call, email, or visit your representatives and senators in Congress. Demand they scuttle most provisions and cuts in the bill.
2. SPREAD AWARENESS
   Most people don’t know what is in the budget. We need share the consequences of this budget. Use your voice on every platform—Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Threads, BlueSky.
   Write and share op-eds, blog posts, or letters to the editor.
   Use hashtags like #DefendOurYouth, #FundSNAP, #ProtectMedicaid to amplify your message.
3. ORGANIZE & VOTE
   Elections have consequences. Hold leaders accountable who back policies that harm our people.
   Re-enroll now for vote-by-mail ballots. Help get out the vote.

Florida NOW: is an intersectional grassroots organization that promotes feminist ideals, leads societal change, eliminates discrimination, and protects the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life. We envision a Florida where all people experience true equality, equity, safety, and no community is marginalized.

FL NOW strongly condemns the cruelty of the recent escalation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across Florida and the nation, as well as the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda that includes the transfer of detainees to foreign prisons with documented human rights abuses.

“These actions are not about public safety—they are about fear, control, and the systemic destruction of immigrant communities,” said FL NOW President, Julie Kent. “Women and children are being detained in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, denied medical care, and subjected to psychological trauma. This is state-sponsored violence.”

FL NOW is particularly alarmed by substantiated reports of:

• Overcrowding and medical neglect in Florida detention centers like Krome.
• Deportations to prisons in countries with known human rights violations, including El Salvador’s CECOT facility.
• Targeted ICE raids at workplaces and schools, disproportionately affecting women, families, and essential workers.
• Suppression of protest and dissent, including threats of prosecution against those who oppose these policies.

“These policies are not only cruel—they are deeply gendered,” said Julie Kent. “Immigrant women face heightened risks of abuse, family separation, and reproductive injustice under this regime.”

FL NOW calls on Florida lawmakers, local officials, and community leaders to:

• Demand an immediate halt to ICE raids on peaceful immigrant locations and cessation of deportations without due process.
• Investigate and shut down detention centers with documented abuses.
• Protect the right to protest and organize without fear of criminalization.
• Pass local sanctuary policies and resist federal overreach.

“We will not be silent while our neighbors are dragged from their homes, our children are traumatized, and our values are trampled,” said Debbie Deland Vice President, FL NOW. “This is not justice. This is not freedom. And we will fight back.”

Contact: Debbie Deland, Vice President FL NOW, 407 234-6408, vp@flnow.org

June 20, 2025 – Orlando, FL — The Florida National Organization for Women (FL NOW) strongly condemns the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. This ruling represents a devastating blow to the rights, dignity, and futures of trans youth—not only in Tennessee, but across the nation.

“This decision is not about protecting children—it’s about erasing them,” said Julie Kent, President of FL NOW. “It ignores medical consensus, parental rights, and the lived realities of young people who deserve care, not condemnation.”

The Court’s 6–3 ruling in LW v. Skrmetti allows Tennessee to prohibit puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors, even though the same medications remain legal for non-transgender youth with other conditions. This double standard is not only discriminatory—it is deadly.

FL NOW emphasizes that this ruling disregards the existence of intersex children, who are born with variations in sex characteristics and often undergo irreversible medical interventions without consent. “If we acknowledge that children can be born with diverse biological traits, how can we deny that gender exists on a spectrum—and that care must be tailored to the individual?” asked Debbie Deland, Vice President FL NOW.

Major medical organizations—including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association—support gender-affirming care as evidence-based and lifesaving. Yet the Court’s decision prioritizes political ideology over medical expertise, and fear over facts.

“This ruling is a green light for cruelty,” said Julie Kent, President of FL NOW. “It opens the door for further attacks on bodily autonomy, parental rights, and the right of every child to grow up whole.”

FL NOW calls on:

• Florida lawmakers to reject similar bans and protect access to gender-affirming care.
• Medical professionals to speak out against political interference in healthcare.
• Allies and advocates to mobilize in defense of trans youth and intersex children.

“We will not stand by while our children are legislated out of existence,” said Julie Kent. “This is not just a legal issue—it’s a moral one. And we will fight for every child’s right to be seen, supported, and safe.”

Contact: Debbie Deland, Vice President FL NOW, 407 234-6408, vp@flnow.org