Lakewood, WA – Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) hosted a Cost-of-Living Roundtable with constituents and regional business owners to discuss the impacts of the Trump administration on affordability and increasing costs to small businesses.
“Whether you are a servicemember, a small business owner, raising a family, or a community leader – affordability impacts your daily life,” said Strickland. “I am committed to bringing the cost of living down for the American people.”
Roundtable participants included small business owners, ranchers, servicemembers and families, and constituents. During the roundtable, Strickland and the participants discussed several key issues and potential solutions, including:
- Reinstating Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies to address health insurance costs that are through the roof, especially for small employers.
- Restoring and improving key food bank and food assistance grants to better support the full agricultural economy and to make sure no American goes hungry.
- Preserving and expanding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP), WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), LIHEAP, and Housing Assistance Programs–families using these programs are pooling resources, especially while facing high gas prices.
- Expanding opportunities for small businesses to access capital.
- Changing Social Security Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to better mirror elderly consumer spending patterns as opposed to working adults in urban areas, and to better keep up with inflation.
- Basic Needs Allowances (BNAs) for servicemembers to offset high cost-of-living expenses not being adjusted for differences in cost-of-living across the country.
- Temporary lodging expense (TLE) limits for service members are inflexible for extenuating circumstances and hotels no longer honoring military housing allowances.
Overall, the Congresswoman heard that Trump’s failed domestic and foreign policies are hurting Americans and our economic backbone – small businesses.
Strickland also discussed her ongoing legislative work on energy affordability, health care costs, assistance for farmers, and housing costs for servicemembers, in addition to community project funding she has secured to increase affordability in the South Sound.
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