Arise’s Robyn Hyden ties a bow on the Alabama Legislature’s 2025 regular session by celebrating some of the numerous policy wins that our members made possible. These include:

– Reducing the state sales tax on groceries.
– Ending the state sales tax on baby formula, diapers, maternity clothing and other items for women and infants.
– Expanding no-cost school breakfast for K-12 students.
– Ensuring paid parental leave for teachers, two-year college workers and state employees.
– Removing eligibility barriers to allow pregnant mothers to receive Medicaid coverage earlier in their pregnancy.

But now our advocacy shifts. Congress is moving fast to pass a budget bill that would raise costs for health care and food by making devastating cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. Join Alabama Arise, Cover Alabama and Hunger Free Alabama in speaking out against these harmful federal cuts. Learn more here: https://www.votervoice.net/ALARISE/Campaigns/126763/Respond

Hi, I’m Robyn Hyden, the executive director at Alabama Arise. Congratulations to all of our Arise members and partners for your work during the 2025 legislative session to secure five key victories for working families.

From further cutting the state sales tax on groceries to more sales tax cuts for women and infants products, expanding funding for no-cost school breakfast for K-12 students, providing our first-ever paid parental leave program for state employees and teachers, streamlining maternity Medicaid access through the Alabama Maternal Health Act, expanding school funding for low-income students through the Raise Act, and finally, successfully defending against further attacks on our safety net — we’ve had a good year.

Unfortunately, looking ahead, U.S. Congress and D.C. are poised to undo a lot of the progress we have made this year to make life easier for working families. The budget now moving through the U.S. House of Representatives will only raise prices for health care and food for millions of Americans who are already struggling. They’re trying to pass this budget out of the House this week before Memorial Day.

To add insult to injury, they’re making these cuts to further cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires. So, together with our partners in the Cover Alabama Coalition and the Hunger-Free Alabama Coalition, Arise invites you to speak out with us — to fight back against these cuts.

Please call your House member today and let them know you’re watching for the vote we expect them to take later this week. Let them know we won’t accept these cuts to hurt families who are struggling just to help people who are doing just fine.

Please check out our legislative digest this week for more ways to take action, upcoming webinars and meetings, our legislative briefing, and ways that you can join us to save Medicaid and SNAP before it’s too late.

Thank you.