Vice-Chair Lawson-Remer Requests a ‘Notification of Funding at Risk’ Be Sent to One Million San Diego County Residents in Imminent Danger of Losing Healthcare, Food, and Housing from Proposed Federal Funding Cuts to Critical Programs
Acting Chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer today called upon the County to send a “Notification of Funding at Risk” to all federally funded program beneficiaries – many of whom may be unaware of threats to these services.
At a press conference today, Lawson-Remer announced that 1.2 million San Diego County residents are in imminent danger of losing healthcare, food, and housing due to proposed budget cuts by the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans that will slash these programs and threaten the stability of our region.
Lawson-Remer explained that just as utility providers provide notice of service interruptions, childcare centers warn parents when they are unable to provide services, and doctor’s offices call to tell patients when an appointment must be rescheduled, the government must also follow this same commonsense protocol when services are at risk of termination.
"This is how service disruptions are handled for everyday and emergency situations alike. The impacted person is notified by the service provider of the change ahead of time," said acting Chair Lawson-Remer. "Clearly this is how our government must also inform its constituents. While the scale of these proposed cuts to services may be unprecedented, our government’s response and responsibility to provide notice should be obvious."
1.2 million people in San Diego County receive support from at least one federally-funded assistance program:
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50,000 San Diegans currently receive job training and financial assistance benefits
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400,000 San Diegans receive food assistance benefits
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Nearly 900,000 people in San Diego County receive healthcare coverage through Medi-Cal
At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Lawson-Remer announced that she will direct the County Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to develop a notification strategy to send a “notice of funding at risk” to all federally funded program beneficiaries, which should include contact information for the White House, and the Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) - where these capricious orders to slash government services are coming from.
"More than one in three people living in our county rely on federally funded programs to meet their basic needs. Healthcare, housing, food security, and jobs programs are all at imminent risk of termination by the Trump administration’s shocking budget cut proposals," said Lawson-Remer. "I’m calling for common sense communication from the County to the beneficiaries of these programs, and I’m calling for it to happen quickly."
The CAO will be asked to report back with County notification strategy options within 30 days.