Page 3 - Work Force September 2025

Federal budget deal delivers devastating blow to New York, CSEA members
ALBANY — CSEA is sounding the alarm over the sweeping impacts of the recently enacted federal budget reconciliation law, warning that deep cuts to health care, food assistance and public services will reverberate across New York for years to come.
CSEA’s Legislative and Political Action Department staff have recently hosted Zoom presentations to inform members of these devastating federal cuts.
Signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, the measure narrowly passed both chambers of Congress along party lines.
The budget
delivers $4.5 trillion
in permanent tax cuts that largely benefit the wealthiest Americans, while slashing critical federal programs that millions of working people rely on.
For New York, the
stakes are enormous.
Federal aid accounts
for 36% of the state
budget, with Medicaid making up the lion’s share.
Under the new law, the state faces $8.4 billion in new annual health care costs due to more than $1.1 trillion in national Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts. This will trigger an estimated 75,000 hospital job losses statewide and leave 1.5 million more New Yorkers uninsured. Safety-net hospitals, along with health care facilities in rural and low-income communities, face heightened risk of closure. A CSEA analysis shows that about 70 hospitals in New York are at a high risk for closure or severe cuts.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) also takes a major hit. For the first time, states will be required to pay part of
the actual food benefit, adding more than $1 billion in annual costs for New York and potentially stripping benefits from 300,000 residents. Increased work requirements will make it harder for eligible families to stay enrolled.
While the law includes a new overtime tax deduction and a higher federal child tax credit, these modest gains will be far outweighed by the loss of essential services and jobs.
“We traded away health care and a safety net for tax cuts for billionaires and corporations,” said CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan.
Beyond health
care and SNAP,
the law eliminates clean energy grants, cuts student loan subsidies and reduces support for heating assistance programs. These changes are expected to deepen economic inequality, slow job growth, and burden state and local
governments with tough choices: raise taxes, cut services, freeze hiring or lay off workers.
Another important point – New Yorkers may not notice all of these cuts right away, as some aspects of the law will not take effect until next year and the full law will take effect in 2029.
CSEA is urging members to stay engaged, join the PEOPLE program and sign up as a federal advocate. Additional federal reconciliation bills are expected in the coming year, with even deeper cuts on the table.
“The fight isn’t over,” said Sullivan. “We need every voice to protect the services we provide, the jobs we hold, and the communities we serve.”
WHY THE FEDERAL BUDGET MATTERS
State Budget
36% of New York’s budget revenue is from federal sources.
CSEA Jobs
Cuts to federal assistance affect every CSEA-represented position.
The New York State Budget
State Spending
64%
$161 billion $252
billion
HEALTH CARE CUTS: IMPACT ON NEW YORK
Federal Aid
36%
$91 billion
Medicaid makes up 77% of all federal aid to New York
State Budget
$8.4 billion in
added annual health care costs to New York
Job Losses
75,000 hospital jobs will be cut statewide
More Uninsured
1.5 million people will be newly uninsured
$13 billion in funding cuts to health care facilities
Cuts to Facilities
SNAP CUTS: IMPACT ON NEW YORK
Increased State Costs
$1.4 billion in new admistrative and food costs to New York
More People Hungry
300,000 New Yorkers will lose all or some of their SNAP benefits
Average monthly benefit loss of $265, plus reduced future benefits
Reduced Benefits
OVERALL IMPACT
-$10 billion
Impact on the NYS Budget
300,000+
New Yorkers will lose SNAP benefits
-$13 billion
Impact on NYS health care facilities
-200,000
Jobs statewide
+$3.4 trillion
National debt
+1.5 million
Uninsured New Yorkers
September 2025
The Work Force 3
“We traded away health care and a safety net for tax cuts for billionaires and corporations. ”
See pages 6-8 for features on several of our union’s federal advocates.