ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Grassroots organizers across North Carolina will hold coordinated vigils at 6 p.m. Tuesday, urging U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd to vote against a pending federal reconciliation bill that activists said would gut health care access and fund expanded immigration enforcement.
The protests, organized by local chapters of the Poor People’s Campaign, NAACP and allied groups, are part of a statewide day of action targeting what opponents are calling the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” The legislation includes proposed cuts to Medicaid eligibility and increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“After a decade of community members, health care providers, and faith leaders from every corner of our state tirelessly building the case for Medicaid expansion in North Carolina, we are under attack from Congress threatening to undo it all,” said Nicole Dozier, director of health advocacy at the N.C. Justice Center.
Vigils are scheduled in front of all the senators’ offices across the state, including a prominent gathering at 1 Historic Courthouse Square in Hendersonville.
Auna Namkung, a longtime Medicaid recipient, criticized the proposal’s new work reporting requirements.
“Why in the world would Congress and Trump want to increase government inefficiency by creating even more red tape for our Medicaid program?” Namkung asked. “This is the farthest proposal from common sense that I’ve heard of.”
Leslie Boyd, of the North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign, said the stakes are personal.
“This bill could rip access to health care from 13 million people, 600,000 of them from North Carolina,” Boyd said. “I know what it feels like to lose a loved one to this broken system, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”