{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.gallego.senate.gov/news/press-releases/in-phoenix-gallego-meets-with-local-leaders-pushes-back-on-trumps-health-care-head-start-cuts/", "In Phoenix, Gallego Meets with Local Leaders, Pushes Back on Trump\u2019s Health Care & Head Start Cuts", "2026-08-24", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "AZ", "Ruben Gallego", "G000574", "www.gallego.senate.gov", "gallego", "https://www.gallego.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "Senator Also Sits Down With Latino Men As Part of \u201cM\u00e1s Que Macho\u201d Initiative\n\nPHOENIX \u2014 Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) spent the weekend meeting with more than 1,700 state and local elected officials, healthcare advocates, banking leaders, Head Start educators and parents, and Hispanic men to hear directly about the challenges facing Arizona families and communities.\n\nOn Thursday, Senator Gallego attended the 2026 Arizona League of Cities and Towns Conference, where he met with mayors, council members and local officials from across Arizona to discuss the challenges facing their communities and how he can advocate for them at the federal level. Gallego emphasized the importance of maintaining strong relationships with local leaders and ensuring Arizona communities have a voice in Washington.\n\nGallego speaks with Joseph Yuhas, Infrastructure Partner at Sustainability Partners at the 2026 Arizona League of Cities and Towns Conference\n\nOn Friday, Senator Gallego participated in Protect Our Care\u2019s \u201cSick of It Fix Health Care Now\u201d Press Conference. The Senator discussed the impact of the Trump Administration and Republicans\u2019 recent Medicaid cuts, which are expected to push thousands of Arizonans out of coverage and put additional strain on hospitals, clinics and rural healthcare providers across the state.\n\n\u201cThis was a choice,\u201d said Senator Gallego. \u201cRepublicans made a deliberate choice to cut Medicaid and let Affordable Care Act tax credits expire. They could have protected millions of Americans, but instead they chose to prioritize tax breaks for the wealthiest and please Donald Trump.\n\n\u201cAnd we haven\u2019t even seen the worst of it yet. Rural clinics are going to feel the pain. Hospitals are going to feel the pain. Families across Arizona are going to feel the pain,\u201d Senator Gallego added. \u201cKicking people off their health insurance is one of the worst choices you can make \u2014 and Republicans are going to have to answer for it when millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of Arizonans, are left struggling to afford or access the care they need.\u201d\n\nLater in the day, Senator Gallego hosted a roundtable with the Arizona Bankers Association to discuss the housing affordability crisis, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and ways to help small businesses access the resources they need to grow.\n\nAfterwards, Gallego met with Head Start parents, educators and program leaderswho shared concerns about federal funding delays, increased red tape and proposed changes by the Trump Administration. The disruptions could affect more than 17,000 Arizona children, including children served by tribal Head Start programs, who rely on these programs for early learning, health, mental health, nutrition and family support services.\n\nGallego talks with Arizona teachers and parents at Urban Strategies, Early Head Start Center\n\n\u201cCuts are going to force Head Start Arizona to make some hard decisions,\u201d said Senator Gallego. \u201cChanging class sizes means quality is going to be diminished. Childcare is so expensive, I think the last thing we should do is weaken this system. We have to focus on fully funding and supporting Head Start.\u201d\n\nTo finish the day, Senator Gallego participated in a \u201cM\u00e1s Que Macho\u201d event hosted by America\u2019s Future Project.Gallego joined Hispanic men from across the Phoenix area for lunch and an open conversation about the issues affecting their families and communities. He asked participants what issues matter most to them, whether they feel represented and heard, and what he can do to better serve their communities.\n\nGallego speaks at \u201cM\u00e1s Que Macho\u201d event in downtown Phoenix", 1, "2026-08-25T05:31:37Z", "2026-08-25T05:33:09Z"]], "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://www.gallego.senate.gov/news/press-releases/in-phoenix-gallego-meets-with-local-leaders-pushes-back-on-trumps-health-care-head-start-cuts/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.226951066404581, "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"}