{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://troycarter.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-carter-slams-republicans-cutting-louisianans-medicaid-benefits", "Congressman Carter Slams Republicans for Cutting Louisianans Medicaid Benefits", "2025-05-13", "2025", "2025-05", "Democrat", "House", "LA", "Troy A. Carter", "C001125", "troycarter.house.gov", "troycarter", "https://troycarter.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Tonight, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA) will continue to be in a 36-hour-long Energy and Commerce Committee business meeting debating the Republican partisan budget reconciliation bill. Under this plan, Republicans will impose $715 billion in Medicaid cuts.\n\nCongressman Carter invited Katie, Coye, Connor, Cooper Corkern from Louisiana to join him as an example of a local family who will be devastated by these Medicaid cuts. Connor John Corkern was born 18 years ago with a congenital brain malformation. His parents were shocked at the news of his diagnosis as his mother Katie\u2019s pregnancy was uneventful. At just six weeks old, Connor\u2019s parents were told that his brain malformation was so significant that he would need one on one care for all aspects of his life. He was blind, developmentally delayed, had poor muscle tone, was fed through a tube, had numerous types of seizures every day, had an underdeveloped pituitary gland, needed hormone replacement medications, had an immune deficiency disorder, and was nonverbal. Coye, a Louisiana law enforcement officer, and Katie, a Special Education Teacher, spent much of their time with Connor at Children\u2019s Hospital in New Orleans as their son\u2019s seizures and illnesses turned into life-threatening events.\n\nAfter nearly a decade of being on a waiting list for a home and community-based disability waiver, Connor was given an emergency New Opportunities Waiver (NOW) in 2015. The NOW waiver afforded them Medicaid despite their income, and with that came help in caring for Connor at his own home with his parents and two brothers. Connor\u2019s skilled nurse has been with him for 10 years now. She cares for Connor while his parents work. Connor has also had wonderful direct support professionals who assist him in the evenings while his parents bring his brothers to and from extracurricular activities and events.\n\nWhen Connor was first diagnosed, his physicians warned his parents that his life was extremely fragile and there was a high chance he would not survive childhood. On May 7, 2025, Connor graduated from high school with his peers.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re here because the Republican Majority is attempting to do exactly what they promised: rip people\u2019s health care away from them,\u201d said Rep. Carter. \u201cUnder this plan, Republicans will impose drastic Medicaid cuts\u2013which will result in millions of Americans losing their health care, destroy our hospitals and close the nursing homes our parents and grandparents rely upon while blowing-up states\u2019 budgets, including Louisiana\u2019s. These cuts will put the elderly, the disabled, and our children at risk \u2013 all so they can give trillions of dollars in tax breaks to billionaires and large corporations. Simply put- this is cruel, inhumane and wrong.\n\n\u201cConnor\u2019s story is an example of why Medicaid is so important for countless families across the United States. Republicans need to know that these cuts are not just numbers on paper, these are decisions with real life consequences that will hurt our people. Medicaid plays a crucial role in providing life-saving care to millions of Americans and Louisianians, and it\u2019s essential that we continue to support and strengthen this program \u2013 not make it harder for people to access care. Let\u2019s make it easier for children, like Connor, and their families to access these critical services made possible through Medicaid, not harder. Connor\u2019s story could be any family\u2019s story. The story of our family should not be written in a genetic lottery. Every family is precious.\u201d\n\nView photos and video from today\u2019s meeting here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T00:49:36Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://troycarter.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-carter-slams-republicans-cutting-louisianans-medicaid-benefits"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3794978149235249, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}