Revisiting H.R. 1

This past month, we celebrated Thanksgiving, and like so many families, we have a tradition of going around the table and saying something for which we are thankful. It’s been a difficult year and the weeks leading up to our celebration of the abundance of the harvest and the original American immigrant story were plagued with uncertainty.

I had intended to write a follow-up to my October article about the impacts of H.R. 1 on our state budget but missed the November deadline as we scrambled to fight for and backfill the SNAP benefits that expired with the government shutdown on October 1. In the end, the additional time proved fruitful, allowing for the benefit of real dollar projections from the Spending Affordability Committee and the departments of health and human services.

Anyone who read my article in October probably anticipated that the outlook would not be rosy. Anyone with a small business or a household budget has already been feeling the pinch. During the 2026 session, the General Assembly did extensive, necessary, and yes, unpopular work to address the looming structural deficit so that we would continue to meet the needs of our constituents and our state budget without cutting services and programs to our constituency.

Unsurprisingly, our state has been hit especially hard by the cutting of federal agencies and federal contracts, cuts in H.R. 1 to fund additional tax cuts for large corporations and the wealthiest among us, cost shifting from the federal government to the states, and increased costs resulting from uncertainty about tariffs and the future of several federal programs.

Additionally, costs for essential programs such as Medicaid, the Developmental Disabilities Administration and child care, which support our most vulnerable Marylanders, came in higher than expected after the 2025 session. We know that those costs only increase with the delayed SNAP cuts that went into effect November 1 with one day’s guidance, Medicaid funding cuts that go into effect in 2027, additional administrative burden and cost shifts from H.R. 1.

To give you a snapshot of the impact, SNAP serves over 680,000 Marylanders, including approximately 262,000 children, 128,000 people with disabilities and 122,000 seniors. Before H.R.1, SNAP benefits were 100% federally funded and administrative costs were split 50/50 between federal and states. However, as of November 1, benefits for many SNAP recipients were reduced and Marylanders — including refugees, asylees, and victims of human trafficking with legal right to remain — were removed from eligibility. Over the next three years, Maryland will increase SNAP spending from $115 million per year to $172.5 million per year in general funds as more of the financial and administrative burden is shifted to the states and does not include needed investments in technology and staffing to comply with the new requirements.

Changes to Medicaid are also significant, and though we have yet to receive final guidance from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, early projections show that about 175,000 Marylanders could lose coverage once H.R. 1 is fully implemented and Maryland will lose $2.7 billion of federal funds annually, about 20% of our total Medicaid budget.

As I always say, “with challenges come opportunities,” though I will confess, I wish we didn’t have such an abundance of said opportunities. This year we are going to have to be creative and strategic, and I’m going to be asking you a lot of questions about what you want me to do and support. As you know, I have always been honest and transparent and I have tried to lean in on the values of our district, especially when it comes to health care, education and transportation, our three biggest-ticket items.

This year, the governor is going to present us with a balanced budget, not a budget down $1.5 billion, and just as we did last year and every year before, we are going to review it and weigh in to ensure our shared priorities are realized and we keep our state strong. Given the work of last year and the continuing affordability crisis, the governor has committed to holding revenues as they are, something on which I think we all agree.

As the Old Line State, Maryland has a theme to hold the line, through strategic use of reserve funds, possible pausing or slowing of certain program expansion, and a continued review of our regulatory processes for any inefficiencies. We could not have anticipated the severity of the Trump administration revenue collapse, and the ripples continue to be felt, but we did a lot to protect our state and give ourselves time, and for that, I am thankful; thankful that we have time to figure things out, to keep improving and moving forward, and that we have dedicated public servants and community leaders willing to do the work.