Rev. Barber, NC advocates plan more protests as federal bill is debated

As Congress weighs a Republican-led proposal that could result in cuts to Medicaid and food assistance, activists are ramping up demonstrations — with more protests planned this month in Washington, D.C., and across the country.

The Rev. William Barber II, a civil rights activist from North Carolina, was one of nine people — including several other North Carolinians — arrested June 2 inside the U.S. Capitol during a protest against the bill. Organizers say the proposal would deepen poverty and harm many of the nation’s most vulnerable residents.

It wasn’t Barber’s first arrest in connection with Moral Mondays, a movement that began in North Carolina more than a decade ago to protest policies activists see as unjust toward poor and marginalized communities. And it’s at least the second time in two months he was arrested while praying inside the U.S. Capitol.

And the movement isn’t slowing down.

Another protest Barber will participate in against the proposed legislation is planned for June 30 as part of “Moral Mondays in DC” — a series of demonstrations involving a broad coalition of groups, and organized by the North Carolina-based nonprofit Repairers of the Breach, which Barber leads.

Barber is also scheduled to speak in Philadelphia on Saturday as part of the “No Kings” national protest series, he said. Such rallies to protest Trump’s policies are also taking place in North Carolina, including in Raleigh on Saturday.

Barber said he and eight other clergy and supporters were arrested on June 2 for praying in the Capitol Rotunda.

He said they were not looking to get arrested but to raise awareness.

“We decided that this is a moral issue and that we needed to pray in the rotunda as a sign that, number one, we’re taking this very seriously,” he said.

“Number two: We’re calling the nation and the Congress to repent and to turn and because the Congress prays every day — when they open the Senate and open the House — they need to be reminded that it is useless to pray — P, R, A, Y — and then once you start doing the business of the Congress, you prey — P, R, E, Y — on the most vulnerable in society,” said Barber in an interview with The News & Observer.

“People will be impacted drastically, destructively and possibly even deadly by” this bill, said Barber.

Budget proposal

The U.S. House-passed bill, now under review in the Senate, is a GOP-led proposal calling for billions in cuts and structural changes to safety net programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the next decade.

The bill also funds President Donald Trump’s priorities, including tax credit extensions, border security, and military spending.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would decrease federal Medicaid spending by more than $700 billion and result in more than 10 million people losing Medicaid coverage by 2034. The majority of those would stem from new work requirements (which include exceptions, like for people with disabilities), barriers to enrolling and renewing coverage and limits to states’ abilities to raise state revenues using provider taxes, according to KFF.

About 92% of the people on Medicaid are working, or at school or caregiving or are too ill to work. According to KFF, the remaining 8% report being retired, unable to find work or not working for another reason.

According to information shared with The N&O by the state’s health and human services department, as many as 123,000 North Carolinians could lose Medicaid coverage in the first year under the the bill. Over 10 years, that number could grow to 218,000, resulting in a $14 billion loss in federal Medicaid funding if the plan takes effect in 2027. When people lose coverage, they also often seek care in emergency rooms, leaving hospitals with uncompensated costs.

The bill also proposes a major change to how SNAP is funded, requiring states to cover a share of food benefit costs for the first time. North Carolina could be responsible for up to 25% — or hundreds of millions of dollars annually. State lawmakers would then face a choice: appropriate hundreds of millions in new funding to maintain current benefit levels, or cut SNAP benefits, restrict eligibility, or both, DHHS said.

The plan is still not final.

As awareness grows, so does turnout, said Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, chair of the board of Repairers of the Breach, who was not arrested on June 2 as he said he left to notify others of what was happening.

He estimated that the June 2 rally was roughly 10 times the size of the previous one.

“We want to continue to make very clear the message that this is a moral issue and that people don’t have to make decisions along partisan lines,” he said.

North Carolina’s congressional delegation, he added, should “listen to people who are on Medicaid here” and “understand what it would cost if these drastic cuts happen.”

“Those are the cries that we’re really challenging everyone in Congress to hear — whatever their partisan commitments.”

NC arrests

Three of those arrested are from Durham and are advocating for disability rights.

Suvya Carroll, 32, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, said she went to fight for Medicaid and SNAP for herself and for the many others who need it.

Medicaid, she said, allows her to get the help she needs to be able to live, including her wheelchair, her doctor’s appointments and help from a direct support professional, which provide home and community-based services for many people who need them.

DSP services help her “be able to live safely and independently,” she said.

“I grew up doing a lot of stuff by myself, like getting ready, getting dressed, taking a shower, doing all these things on my own. But now that I have support, is a little bit easier on my body “she said.

“I’m very grateful for that help, because if I didn’t have the help that I have now, I would still be doing it all by myself, and it would be taking hours to just do two things,” she said.

The bill under consideration “makes me really fearful and really angry and annoyed that this is happening because there’s so many people all over the United States that have disabilities, and sometimes they don’t have families with a lot of money in their bank accounts to help them with medical bills or medical supplies or things like that, like myself,” she said.

Politico and other news outlets have reported that Republican lawmakers say they want to reduce “waste, fraud and abuse” in the safety-net program for low-income Americans and not benefits.

They’ve said coverage losses would largely stem from removing from the rolls unauthorized immigrants, people choosing not to work and ineligible people. They’ve also pointed to exceptions from work requirements. But Politico also indicates that some Republicans are worried about potential political fallout from cutting Medicaid.

But another projected consequence of the bill is states facing tighter budgets due to the loss of federal revenue. This could lead to states opting to cut or limit Medicaid services not required to be provided under federal law — such as home- and community-based services. They could also make cuts in other parts of their budgets or increase taxes. KFF estimates North Carolina will see a $23 billion decrease in federal spending across a decade.

Many people such as seniors and people with disabilities rely on home care services to assist with daily living, personal care and medical needs.

Carroll said she traveled to Washington with longtime friends Lee Anderson, a music minister at Edenton Street United Methodist Church, and Sloan Meek. The trio is in a band, Meek Squad, and has recorded two albums together.

Anderson, who was also arrested, said Carroll and Meek are “family to me,” in a video posted online by Repairers of the Breach.

“This bill, as it is now, is a real threat to their well-being, and other people in similar situations. And so it’s really life or death and I’m here to stand up for what’s right,” he said in the video.

Wilson-Hartgrove said while his group went to the Capitol Rotunda, another visited the offices of congressional leadership in the House and Senate to deliver a letter inviting them to join in prayer. Members also prayed outside Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office and outside the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, which was locked, he said. They were able to deliver the letter to Schumer’s office and speak with staff, he said.

Many of those at the Rotunda were arrested after officers told them to stop praying or face arrest, Wilson-Hartgrove said.

“The police were simply doing what they were sent to do, and I don’t have any complaint about them,” he said. “Our concern is that the leadership of Congress isn’t doing their jobs.”

A Capitol Police spokesperson confirmed that nine people were arrested during the June 2 event for demonstrating inside congressional buildings — an activity they said is not allowed and includes, but is not limited to, sitting, kneeling, group prayer, singing, and chanting. Officers gave multiple warnings to stop or face arrest, but the individuals did not comply, police said. They were charged under a D.C code for “crowding, obstructing, or incommoding,” the spokesperson said.

Carroll said she hadn’t yet decided if she would go to the next protest later this month.

But, she said, “I will do it all over again if I have to.”