For the second time in as many months, San Diego County supervisors have declined to approve a plan to warn residents that their federal benefits may be eliminated by the Trump istration.
The Board of Supervisors on Wednesday rejected the idea of sending letters to people who collect housing, healthcare and other federally funded services notifying them that they may be subject to cuts being put forward by the White House.
Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, who brought the matter to the board, singled out Section 8 federal housing and Medi-Cal, the state version of Medicaid, as potential targets.
The Trump istration already has pared jobs and services at the Social Security istration, the Departments of Education, Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services and other federal agencies.
“It’s still speculative as to what may or may not be cut, but we do know it’s looking fairly likely there will be significant cuts,” Lawson-Remer said.
The item was rejected on a 2-1 vote, with Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe voting to the warning letters. Supervisor Joel Anderson voted no without saying anything, and Supervisor Jim Desmond was not at the meeting.
Supervisors deadlocked on the same proposal last month on a 2-2 vote, when Desmond ed Anderson in opposing the idea.
The standoff in March, which triggered the issue being brought back to the board for a second vote, broke down along political party lines even though elected supervisors are technically nonpartisan positions.
Lawson-Remer and Montgomery Steppe are Democrats; Anderson and Desmond are Republicans.
Before former Supervisor Nora Vargas resigned unexpectedly late last year, Democrats controlled the board. A special election to replace Vargas appears headed to a runoff in July between two South County mayors, Chula Vista’s John McCann and Imperial Beach’s Paloma Aguirre.
Since Trump returned to the White House in January, the Republican president and his aides have cut thousands of jobs and billions of dollars from the federal government.
Lawson-Remer and Montgomery Steppe said it was prudent to formally notify San Diego County residents who rely on federally subsidized housing and healthcare, food stamps and a litany of other benefits now being targeted for cuts by the new president.
“The best case scenario is that it does not happen, but all signs are that there will be cuts,” Montgomery Steppe said. “This is the responsible thing to do, to notify people.”
Last week, county officials announced they expected $40 million in federal public-health funds were being recalled by the Trump istration — at least some of which was to be spent on equipment for a new laboratory.
