Resource: Letters & Testimony

Alabama Arise testimony against efforts to water down meaningful Public Service Commission reform

By Alabama Arise

Arise’s Dev Wakeley testified Tuesday before the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee in support of the House-passed version of HB 475, and against proposed Senate changes through a substituted bill to weaken HB 475.

As originally passed in the House, HB 475 by Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, would have required the Public Service Commission (PSC) to hold a formal rate hearing at least once every three years and would have limited utility companies from including certain lobbying and other costs in their rates. But the Senate committee amended the bill to weaken provisions regarding rate hearings and the PSC’s independence. Here is the full text of Wakeley’s remarks:

I’m Dev Wakeley with Alabama Arise. We are an anti-poverty organization, and accordingly, we supported HB 475 when it was introduced. We thought it was a good bill, and it was a bill that would have fostered accountability for the catastrophically high utility rates that the people in Alabama pay.

Our folks pay 20% more for electricity than people in Louisiana and Kentucky. Our folks pay more for electricity than all of our neighboring states. And that includes states where Southern Company owns the utility provider there. Georgians pay less for power than Alabamians do from the same parent company. It doesn’t make any sense.

Georgia and Alabama are the same climatically. People are dealing with the same amount of heat and the same amount of sunshine. The only thing that’s different is the regulatory structure or lack thereof. And we urged folks to support HB 475, and at the same time to oppose SB 360. Because SB 360 – the provisions of which have just been incorporated into HB 475 – is the exact opposite of an accountability bill.

That is a bill to put the thumb on the scale in favor of corporate interests at the expense of everyday Alabamians’ pocketbooks. And the people of Alabama are fully aware of this. They overwhelmingly turned out in opposition to the attempt to take away their right to vote for PSC commissioners. Now they face a similar effort to subordinate the elected PSC commission to an appointed position.

Please don’t do that. The people of Alabama have already made it perfectly clear they don’t want y’all to do that. They think it’s a way to shirk accountability for corporations.

People are squeezed every which way right now. The way to fix that is to lower electricity rates. This bill now doesn’t do that. It did before. It would have fostered the accountability that would have led to lower rates. And now there’s a thumb on the scale that’s going to prevent that in the long run.

I urge you to vote “no” on this bill as amended. Thank you.

Alabama Arise testimony in opposition to SNAP food choice limits

By Alabama Arise

Alabama Arise hunger policy advocate LaTrell Clifford Wood testified Wednesday before the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee in opposition to SB 57 by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur. SB 57 would restrict which foods can be bought in Alabama with food assistance benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Here is the full text of Clifford Wood’s prepared remarks:

Mr. Chairman and esteemed committee members, my name is LaTrell Clifford Wood, and I am a hunger policy advocate with Alabama Arise. I am also an appointee to the Joint Study Commission on Grocery Taxation.

Alabama Arise is a member-based organization, and our members voted strongly for us to oppose SB 57. We support policies to improve the health of low-income people and to expand access to food and health care. However, those goals are not achieved by a bill that comes with sanctions for people experiencing poverty and unclear costs for our state.

It is government overreach for Alabama to be in the business of telling people who are living in poverty what to eat. This bill would not achieve its stated ends, nor was its introduction supported by any research about consumer behavior.

People on SNAP have similar purchasing habits to the average consumer. And while SNAP is the most effective program this nation has seen when it comes to addressing hunger, it is a modest program. SNAP benefits average $6 a day, meaning they only supplement grocery budgets. This bill would increase state costs, as well as increase the tax burden on low-income households, without making any investments to improve consumer access to healthy food.

Since it was introduced, SB 57’s estimated cost to taxpayers has increased to $10.4 million. It also threatens to undermine vital steps we have taken toward eliminating the state sales tax on food.

To put that cost in perspective, $10 million is 21 times the amount lawmakers annually allocate to increase access to fresh produce and support local farmers through SNAP incentives like Double Up Bucks. And it is more than enough to ensure every public school student in Alabama can access a no-cost school breakfast. Both of these policies are proven to improve the long-term health of Alabamians. 

I ask that you vote no on this bill. Do not resort to experimenting on our low-income communities. Let’s focus on stabilizing SNAP under the state cost shift. I am open to meeting with any of you all to discuss how we might improve access to healthy food, and I thank you for your time.

Alabama Arise testimony in opposition to ending Public Service Commission elections

By Alabama Arise

Alabama Arise’s Robyn Hyden testified Tuesday before the House Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure Committee in opposition to HB 392 by Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollinger’s Island, which would change the Public Service Commission from an elected board to an appointed one. Here is the full text of Hyden’s prepared remarks:

Good morning. I am Robyn Hyden, the executive director of Alabama Arise, a nonprofit coalition of faith-based, civic and community groups and individuals across our state working to alleviate poverty. I’m here today on behalf of our 155 member organizations, 2,000 individual members, and people across our state who have reached out and expressed alarm about this proposal. 

Alabama Arise was founded in the late 1980s by a group of citizens concerned about utility rates and the lack of oversight of public utilities with monopoly power in our state. Over the years, we have supported efforts for more transparency and accountability around utility rates. This year, our members asked us to revisit what can be done about Alabama’s highest power rates in the U.S. South.

This bill is a major step backward in our efforts toward greater transparency and accountability. We know just how unpopular this bill is with the general public, and I’m not just speculating here. We have a recent example of our legislature seeking to transition a government board from an elected to an appointed body, and just how unpopular that was.

In 2019, the Alabama Legislature voted to support a constitutional amendment that would make the Alabama Board of Education an appointed, not an elected, body. When this issue went to the ballot for a vote of the people, it was defeated overwhelmingly, with more than 75% of voters choosing to retain their right to vote and not to delegate that power.

We reject the notion that “people do not know who represents them” on the Public Service Commission. The purpose of public elections is that elected commissioners are accountable to the voting public every four years and must answer for regulatory issues, including the rate-setting process, during those elections.

We also reject the notion that this bill will reduce “outside influence.” The fact is, utility companies will have an outsized influence on the process through the ability to give large contributions to state lawmakers who will be appointing their regulators.

We urge you to protect the people’s right to vote and to hold this commission accountable. Please vote no on HB 392.

Principles for allocating Alabama’s Rural Health Transformation Program funds

By Alabama Arise

October 17, 2025

Dear Governor Ivey and Health Policy Advisory staff:

Thank you for the opportunity to share our priorities for the Rural Health Transformation Program. Alabama Arise has three suggested priorities for the use of these funds:

1. Providing payments to health care providers for the provision of health care items or services, as specified by the Administrator.

Our top priority is backfilling rural hospitals for the uncompensated care they have provided and the outstanding costs they still have. RHT funds can be used to fill gaps in care coverage, like uncompensated care or services not covered by insurance. The amount of uncompensated care in a state is a key factor in scoring a state’s application for the “workload funding” component, so it is particularly important to address the high share of uncompensated care that Alabama’s rural hospitals provide in order to strengthen our application.

2. Promoting evidence-based, measurable interventions to improve prevention and chronic disease management.

We recommend Alabama’s application highlight the important role that maternal care plays in ensuring positive lifelong health outcomes. As we consider maternal health investments, we would prioritize regions like the Wiregrass and the Black Belt, which are maternity care deserts.

We also recommend a focus on food as medicine and oral health programs as measurable interventions to address chronic illness. Food as medicine programs which provide supports to purchase, prepare and eat healthier foods are now more important than ever, as food costs are rising and food assistance resources are strapped. Oral health impacts systemic health across the lifespan, and is largely overlooked in care provision.

Programs and models that exist and could be funded or expanded might include:

● Group prenatal care visits at public health departments

● Produce prescription projects, such as those piloted in Birmingham and Mobile

● Medical-dental integration programs

3. Fostering collaboration: Initiating, fostering, and strengthening local and regional strategic partnerships between rural facilities and other health care providers to promote quality improvement, improve financial stability of rural facilities, and expand access to care.

Under this category, we believe a hub and spoke model of coordination would support more effective collaboration between struggling rural providers.

We also believe that support for non-emergency medical transportation should be prioritized as a piece of this approach, acknowledging that transportation is a barrier to care for rural communities and a key piece missing in effective care coordination.

Guiding principles

In 2021, Alabama Arise recommended the following principles in our recommendations for how Alabama should approach the provision of ARPA COVID relief funds. We believe the same principles still apply now:

1. Engage local communities at every step.

2. Aim for equity in outcomes.

3. Invest in existing assets and capacities to help funds work faster, go farther and avoid duplication.

4. Maximize impact by addressing health in all policies. (A focus of the RHTF!)

5. Think big and create a 21st-century infrastructure for the common good.

6. Build public trust and engagement by following the highest standards of documentation, transparency and accessibility of information about funding awards and expenditures.

The issues we face in addressing health care disparities for rural communities are monumental. We hope the Rural Health Transformation Fund will allow us to prioritize some of the most pressing issues affecting rural Alabamians.

We look forward to partnering with your administration and with local communities to improve health care in rural health communities, especially for our state’s most vulnerable people.

Respectfully submitted,

Robyn Hyden

Executive Director

Alabama Arise

Alabama Arise urges federal officials to lift barriers to public transportation funding

By Dev Wakeley

Investing in public transportation would increase mobility, strengthen communities and create jobs across our state. Alabama Arise’s worker policy advocate Dev Wakeley recently submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation urging federal officials to take steps to make public transportation more available and reliable in Alabama. The full text of the comments is below.

Dear Secretary Duffy:

Alabama Arise appreciates the opportunity to comment on the prioritization of transportation purposes pursuant to the reauthorization of funding, DOT-OST-2025-0468. Alabama Arise is a member-directed, anti-poverty organization dedicated to building an economy and society that works for all people in our state. We have worked for better policy for nearly 40 years at the federal, state and local levels. Our members decide yearly what priorities will make life better for individuals and families in Alabama. Overwhelmingly, our members support public transportation as a high priority. And our members’ support holds across every demographic, racially, economically and geographically.

This broad support exists because public transportation funding is one of the best ways to improve and secure the well-being of our communities. Transit is fundamental to the economic success of towns, cities and rural areas across Alabama and the entirety of America. Essential workers depend on and operate our state’s buses and vans. Employers depend on transit to get workers to jobs reliably. And historically marginalized people and communities depend on transit. When people can count on the bus or train to get where they need to go, they can contribute to their workplace, receive needed medical care and participate in the daily life of their communities. They benefit from greater economic mobility and lower household costs.

Our Legislature has identified transit as one of the primary obstacles to increased workforce participation and as an avenue where investment provides good return. And the Legislature’s view is also the view of the business community and community advocates focused on all groups of Alabamians. Disability advocates, worker advocates and groups that support the well-being of children and older Alabamians all understand that transit is important for all of us. But throughout Alabama, our transit riders lack adequate service lines, hours and frequency of service. Many of our transit agencies have significant capital deficits and deferred maintenance. However, the recommendations outlined below would allow our agencies to increase availability and reliability of public transportation in Alabama.

The federal government makes a vital contribution to transit funding, and that contribution helps keep transit viable and available in Alabama, deficiencies notwithstanding. The following recommendations focus on how to increase the return on investments in transit while reducing burdensome requirements on transit agencies.

  1. Federal operating funds would expand capacity and mobility and promote economic growth. The federal transit program provides funding primarily for capital investments, not operating expenses. Transit agencies can purchase new buses or build new rail lines with federal funds, but often lack sufficient funding to cover the costs of fuel and wages for operators. In our small, rural communities that use federal funds for operations, resources are insufficient to address both operating and capital needs. A new bus serves no purpose without the money to operate it. The next reauthorization should include a consistent, predictable source of funding for transit operations. The law should include maintenance of effort requirements to ensure that the additional operations funds increase resources to agencies and do not just swap funding sources. With additional operations funding, transit agencies of all sizes would be able to improve and increase service, which would increase access to jobs and other key destinations, improving economic productivity and reducing household costs.
  1. Eliminating outdated policies and requirements and matching funding to program demand would deliver transit projects faster and more efficiently. Transit is inadequate in America in part because it has been woefully underfunded and subjected to overly burdensome requirements for decades. For example, new transit lines — whether rail or bus rapid transit (BRT) — must undergo an extensive federal analysis to qualify for limited capital investment grant funding, while highways, roads and bridges have no such required analysis. Moreover, transit projects are burdened by disproportionate local match requirements. To meet federal requirements, localities often must provide more than 50% of a new transit project’s cost, while those building new highways must provide only 20%. There is far more demand for transit than the current federal transit program can support. According to the American Public Transportation Association, an additional $36 billion is needed above IIJA levels to build currently planned rail and BRT projects. The Federal Transit Administration and the Volpe Center have estimated that there is a transit state of good repair backlog of more than $140 billion. The next reauthorization must meet this demand by increasing transit funding and making it easier to deploy those dollars, including streamlining requirements and accepting local match for new transit projects on par with that required for highways.
  2. Federal investments to build transit-ready communities would increase safety and catalyze economic development. Transit operates most efficiently on roads designed to accommodate it — through transit lanes, traffic signal priority and safe access for all road users, among other features. Transit also contributes to, and benefits from, economic development along transit corridors. To support efficient operation of transit and grow transit ridership, the reauthorization should:
    • Increase flexibility in roadway design standards to support safe travel for transit riders (whether on the bus or train or traveling to/from the bus or train);
    • Dedicate funding for transit-supportive infrastructure such as sidewalks, bus shelters, ADA access, traffic signal priority, queue jumps and bus lanes; and
    • Incentivize mixed-use, mixed-income private development near transit stations and hubs.
  1. Expanded mobility in small and rural communities would stimulate economic growth and reduce household costs. Transit providers in small and rural areas often struggle to meet their communities’ needs due to a lack of funding and staff capacity. Rural Americans are isolated from jobs, health care and other essential needs. The next reauthorization should remove barriers and improve the federal transit program to increase access to quality transit in small towns and rural areas. This means:
    • Authorizing additional funding for rural transit programs;
    • Raising the federal share of rural transit operating funding from 50% to 80%;
    • Incentivizing coordination across jurisdictional boundaries and across multiple funding sources;
    • Incentivizing innovative solutions and partnerships with competitive grant funding; and
    • Expanding the federal procurement clearinghouse to help small and rural transit agencies right-size their purchases, increase efficiency and facilitate lower capital costs.
  1. Prioritizing road maintenance over building new roads would improve infrastructure conditions, increase safety, and reduce families’ costs. The federal transportation program should prioritize existing roads, bridges and highways ahead of roadway expansion. Deferring needed maintenance leads to increased costs down the road and inhibits asset management. Roads in bad repair increase costs for families who drive as well as undermining the reliability and safety of transit.

Sincerely,

Dev Wakeley

Worker policy advocate

Alabama Arise

205-529-4407

dev@alarise.org

Alabama Arise, 42 partner groups ask lawmakers to stand strong against TVA privatization

By Alabama Arise

Proposals to privatize the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) have surfaced repeatedly in recent years. Alabama Arise joined 42 partner groups in a letter urging Alabama’s congressional delegation and state elected officials to speak out in opposition to efforts to privatize TVA and to keep energy reliable, affordable and accountable to Alabamians. The full text of the letter is below.

Letter text

Dear Elected Leaders,

We, the undersigned organizations, stand united in strong opposition to any efforts to privatize the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). As Alabamians, we know firsthand that TVA has been one of the most transformative public investments in our state’s history: powering our homes and businesses, creating good-paying union jobs and protecting the natural resources that make our region special.

For more than 90 years, TVA has provided reliable, affordable electricity to communities across the Tennessee Valley while reinvesting in local economies. Its public, nonprofit structure keeps decision-making more accountable to the people it serves, not to distant investors. Privatization would put that at risk, leading to higher energy bills, fewer protections for consumers, loss of good union jobs and more pressure to cut corners on safety and environmental stewardship.

TVA is more than a power provider. It is a cornerstone of our economy and quality of life. Its skilled, unionized workforce sustains families and communities across Alabama. Its low rates and dependable service help small businesses grow and attract new industry. Its stewardship of our rivers, lands and recreational areas protects our health and supports our way of life. These are benefits worth protecting, regardless of political affiliation or background.

Our coalition reflects the diverse voices of workers, community members, faith groups and environmental advocates across the state. While we come from different sectors and perspectives, we are united in calling for action to protect our communities.

We urge you, as Alabama’s elected leaders, to speak out clearly and unequivocally against any proposal to privatize TVA in whole or in part. The people of Alabama deserve to keep this vital public asset in public hands, where it can continue to serve the public good for generations to come.

We stand ready to work together to protect the Tennessee Valley Authority – for our workers, our customers, our environment and our shared future.

Signatories

Sincerely,

  1. Alabama Arise
  2. Alabama Building Trades
  3. Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
  4. Alabama Forward
  5. Alabama Poor People’s Campaign
  6. Bay Area Women’s Coalition, Inc.
  7. Central Alabama Labor Federation
  8. Community Enabler
  9. CWA Local 3905
  10. CWA Local 3908
  11. District Eight Organizing Committee, LiUNA
  12. Energy Alabama
  13. Faith in Action Alabama
  14. First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Montgomery
  15. Flint River Conservation Association 
  16. Greater Birmingham Ministries
  17. Huntsville Environmental Coalition
  18. Interfaith Mission Service
  19. International Chemical Workers Union Council of the UFCW
  20. International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE)
  21. Ironworkers Local 477
  22. Jobs to Move America
  23. Laborers Local 366
  24. National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 462
  25. North Alabama Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO
  26. North Alabama Democratic Socialists of America
  27. North Alabama Peace Network
  28. Open Table United Church of Christ 
  29. Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty
  30. Sand Mountain Cooperative Education Center
  31. Somos Alabama
  32. Southern Poverty Law Center
  33. Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative/BAMA Kids, Inc.
  34. SWEET Alabama
  35. Tennessee Building and Construction Trades Council
  36. The Board of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville
  37. The Sisters 
  38. Thrive Alabama
  39. Together for Hope
  40. United Campus Workers – Alabama (CWA Local 3821)
  41. United for a Fair Economy
  42. United Steelworkers Local 9-265
  43. United Women of Color

Alabama Arise, 49 partner groups urge state lawmakers to oppose federal SNAP cost shift

By Alabama Arise

Congressional leaders are considering cuts to food assistance and other human services in a push to offset the cost of tax cuts for wealthy households. The amount of potential SNAP and health care cuts in the budget reconciliation bill that the U.S. House passed in May would be roughly equal to the cost of extending tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of households, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Alabama Arise joined 49 partner groups in a letter asking Gov. Kay Ivey and state legislators to speak out against the devastating budgetary and humanitarian effects of proposed federal food assistance cuts. The full text of the letter is below.

Letter text

Dear Governor Ivey, members of the Legislature and Finance Director Bill Poole:

We, the undersigned Alabama organizations, are writing to raise our concerns about the devastating negative impacts that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provisions in the federal budget reconciliation bill would have on Alabama.

More than 750,000 Alabamians receive food assistance through SNAP, including 500,000 families with children, 300,000 families with older adults or disabled people, and 24,000 Alabama veterans. The SNAP cuts being considered would increase hunger for every one of these Alabamians and would transfer significant financial obligations from the federal government to Alabama.

The reconciliation bill would shift tens of millions of dollars of costs for SNAP administration and benefits from the federal government to Alabama each year.  At our best estimate, Alabama would become responsible for up to $258 million in direct benefit costs, plus an additional $35 million in administrative costs annually.

Congress is considering expanding the scope of current time limits and adding more work verification red tape for an additional 165,000 Alabamians, including parents with children over age 7. Changes of this magnitude would create additional burdens for Alabama’s already stretched child care and child welfare systems and potentially would leave thousands of Alabama children and families without food on their tables.

Congress also is considering limiting future growth in the value of SNAP benefits. Over time, this would reduce SNAP benefits for nearly 800,000 SNAP participants in Alabama, including more than 300,000 children, even as food costs continue to grow.

Potential cuts to SNAP would damage Alabama’s economy. More than 5,000 stores in Alabama are authorized SNAP retailers, many in small towns and rural communities. The USDA estimates that every $1 in SNAP benefits can generate $1.50 in economic activity. Deep SNAP cuts could force layoffs or closures at grocery stores and other retailers across our state. A reduction or loss of SNAP benefits is a threat to our economy and the local communities where we all live and shop.

We urge you strongly to help protect federal funding for SNAP in Alabama and to communicate your concerns with the members of the Alabama congressional delegation. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We appreciate your service to Alabama.

Signatories

Sincerely,

  1. Alabama Arise
  2. A Beautiful Life Enterprises, LLC (Birmingham)
  3. Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice
  4. Alabama Childhood Food Solutions, Inc. (Sylacauga)
  5. Alabama Dietetic Association
  6. Alabama Institute for Social Justice
  7. Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers
  8. Alabama Poor People’s Campaign
  9. Alabama Possible
  10. Alfred Saliba Family Services Center (Dothan)
  11. All Nations Church of God (Montgomery)
  12. Athens-Limestone County Family Resource Center
  13. Auburn United Methodist Church
  14. Baptist Church of the Covenant (Birmingham)
  15. Bay Area Women Coalition, Inc. (Mobile)
  16. Birmingham Indivisible
  17. Bread for the World, Alabama Chapter
  18. Children and Family Connection of Russell County
  19. Coffee County Family Services Center
  20. Community Food Bank of Central Alabama (Birmingham)
  21. Dallas County System of Services
  22. Family Services of North Alabama (Albertville)
  23. Family Support Center (Prattville)
  24. Feeding Alabama
  25. Feeding The Gulf Coast
  26. First Christian Church of Montgomery, Alabama
  27. Food Bank of East Alabama
  28. Grace Presbyterian Church (Tuscaloosa)
  29. Greater Birmingham Ministries
  30. Great I Am Ministries Outreach International (Birmingham)
  31. Growing Essence Nutrition, LLC (Montgomery)
  32. Heart of Alabama Food Bank (Montgomery)
  33. Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama (¡HICA!)
  34. Jefferson County Family Resource Center
  35. Mary Hill Family Service Center (Ozark)
  36. Mary’s House Catholic Worker (Birmingham)
  37. National Lawyers Guild – Alabama Chapter
  38. Next Step Community Development Center (Tuscaloosa)
  39. North Alabama Area Labor Council
  40. North Alabama Peace Network
  41. Selma Area Food Bank
  42. Southern Poverty Law Center
  43. Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative (SRBWI)
  44. Thrive Alabama (Huntsville)
  45. Tuscaloosa’s One Place
  46. Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Tuscaloosa
  47. VOICES for Alabama’s Children
  48. Voters Legal Justice Watch Group
  49. Whom It Concerns, Inc. (Montgomery)
  50. Woodlawn Community Table (Birmingham)

Alabama Arise, 111 partner groups urge Congress to oppose cuts to Medicaid, SNAP

By Alabama Arise

Congressional leaders are considering cuts to health coverage, food assistance and other human services in a push to offset the cost of tax cuts for wealthy households. The amount of potential Medicaid and SNAP cuts in the House budget resolution would be roughly equal to the cost of extending tax breaks for the wealthiest 1% of households, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Alabama Arise joined 111 partner groups in a letter asking Alabama’s congressional delegation to oppose cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. The full text of the letter is below.

Letter text

Dear Senators Tuberville and Britt and Representatives Aderholt, Rogers, Sewell, Palmer, Moore, Strong and Figures,

We write to request respectfully that, in your deliberations about federal budget and tax policy, you ensure that Congress protects the health and nutrition safety net that keeps so many Alabama children fed and healthy and that helps so many Alabama families make ends meet. 

As you know, federal Medicaid funds 72% of the cost of Alabama Medicaid. At a current level of $6.8 billion, Medicaid is the largest source of federal funds in our state’s budget. Medicaid provides health coverage and protection from medical bankruptcy for 1 in 5 Alabamians. Medicaid funding also supports the ALL Kids program, making Alabama a leader among our neighbors with the highest rate of children’s health insurance in the Deep South. 

It is impossible to overstate the extent to which federal Medicaid funding is integral to the strength and effectiveness of the health care infrastructure that benefits all Alabamians. Medicaid provides: 

  • Pediatric care for half of all Alabama children, including the majority of children with intensive health care needs.
  • Perinatal care for half of Alabama pregnant mothers and their babies.
  • Long-term services and supports for 3 in 4 nursing home residents, and for most children and adults who receive nursing care at home.
  • The leading source of health insurance in rural communities, and an essential source of funding for hard-pressed rural hospitals and clinics.
  • Direct grants to hospitals to sustain costly services, such as neonatal intensive care units, which serve their entire communities.

In short, any cuts to federal Medicaid funding, restrictive policies aimed at encouraging disenrollment just to reduce costs, or caps that limit the ability of federal funding to keep pace with inflation would directly impact more than 1 million Alabama children and families. Such cuts would damage our communities, devastate our state budget and weaken Alabama’s economy.

Similarly, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the most effective anti-hunger program in the United States. And in a time of persistently higher food prices, it is more important than ever. Every dollar of federal SNAP funding not only affords families the necessary nutrition, but it also helps stimulate local economies. 

More than 2 in 3 SNAP households are families with children. SNAP provides vital help for working families, as well as for older Alabamians and people with disabilities. Cuts in federal SNAP funding would directly harm the 1 in 7 Alabamians – more than 750,000 people – who participate in the program and would have broader negative effects on communities across our state. 

For all of these reasons, we respectfully urge you to protect federal funding for Medicaid and SNAP, two vital programs that make life better across Alabama. If you have any questions or concerns regarding these matters, please do not hesitate to contact us. We thank you for your public service.

Signatories

Respectfully submitted, 

1. AIDS Alabama – Birmingham
2. AIDS Alabama South – Mobile
3. Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice
4. Alabama Arise
5. Alabama Academy of Family Physicians
6. Alabama Association of Nonprofits
7. Alabama Black Women’s Roundtable
8. Alabama Chapter – American Academy of Pediatrics
9. Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
10. Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program
11. Alabama Election Protection Network
12. Alabama Forward
13. Alabama Institute for Social Justice
14. Alabama Interfaith Power & Light
15. Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers
16. Alabama Poor People’s Campaign
17. Alabama Possible
18. Alabama Rivers Alliance
19. Alabama Rural Ministry – Auburn
20. Alabama State Association of Cooperatives
21. Alabama State Conference of the NAACP
22. Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network
23. All Nations Church – Montgomery
24. American Association of University Women the Shoals
25. American College of Nurse-Midwives Alabama Affiliate
26. American Lung Association
27. Auburn United Methodist Church
28. Baptist Church of the Covenant – Birmingham
29. Bay Area Women Coalition, Inc.
30. Beloved Community Church UCC – Birmingham
31. Birmingham Friends Meeting (Quaker)
32. BirthWell Partners
33. Black Belt Community Foundation
34. Center for Fair Housing – Mobile
35. Children First
36. Church & Society Committee, Anniston First United Methodist Church
37. Church Women United – Montgomery
38. Collaborative Solutions
39. Community Enabler Developer, Inc. – Anniston
40. Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham
41. Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama
42. Destiny Driven, Inc.
43. East Lake United Methodist Church – Birmingham
44. Educational Consulting and Training Group, LLC
45. Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship
46. Faith in Action Alabama
47. Feeding Alabama
48. Fernland Community Coalition Group
49. First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) – Montgomery
50. First Congregational UCC – Birmingham
51. Five Horizons Health Services
52. Forest Lake United Methodist Church
53. Grace Presbyterian Church – Tuscaloosa
54. Gratitude Foundation
55. GASP – Birmingham
56. Greater Birmingham Ministries
57. Hispanic Catholic Social Services – La Casita
58. Hometown Organizing Project
59. Huntsville Bail Fund
60. Independent Living Center – Mobile
61. Interfaith Mission Service
62. Jackson District Women’s Home & Overseas Missionary Society A.M.E. Zion Church
63. Jobs to Move America
64. The Kelsey – Birmingham
65. Kennedy Strategic Communications
66. The Knights & Orchids Society
67. League of Women Voters of Alabama
68. Live2Serve
69. Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
70. LunarLab Benefit LLC – Birmingham
71. Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church
72. Mary’s House Catholic Worker – Birmingham
73. The Mothers of Gynecology – Montgomery
74. National Association of Social Workers – Alabama Chapter
75. National Lawyers Guild – Alabama Chapter
76. North Alabama Area Labor Council
77. North Alabama Conference, United Methodist Church – Advocacy for Social Justice Team
78. North Alabama Peace Network
79. One Roof – Birmingham
80. Open Table UCC – Mobile
81. The People’s Justice Council
82. The People’s Loan Program
83. Professional Association of Social Workers in HIV & AIDS (PASWHA)
84. Progressive Women of Northeast Alabama
85. PROJECT.HELP.USA
86. Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty
87. Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church – Birmingham
88. Sapps Community Center, Inc.
89. Shoals Educational Enrichment Resources
90. St. Paul UMC – Birmingham
91. The Sisters
92. Sisters of St. Joseph – Selma
93. Sisters of Mercy in Alabama – Mobile
94. The 6:52 Project Foundation, Inc.
95. Southern Poverty Law Center
96. Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative
97. Stand Up Mobile
98. Thrive Alabama
99. Together for Hope – Black Belt
100. Trinity Gardens Community Civic Club
101. Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Auburn
102. Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham
103. Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville
104. Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Montgomery
105. Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Tuscaloosa
106. United for a Fair Economy
107. United Way of West Alabama
108. United Women of Color – Huntsville
109. Valley Christian Church – Mountain Brook
110. VOICES for Alabama’s Children
111. WAWC Healthcare – Tuscaloosa
112. West End Community Church – Birmingham

Alabama Arise, 55 partner groups urge Congress to oppose more tax cuts for wealthy households

By Alabama Arise

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), enacted in 2017, increased federal deficits by nearly $2 trillion while lavishing tax cuts on the country’s wealthiest households. Many TCJA provisions are set to expire this year, including numerous provisions that disproportionately benefit wealthy people. Alabama Arise joined 55 partner organizations in a letter asking Alabama’s congressional delegation to oppose additional tax cuts for wealthy households and to support expansions of tax provisions that support working people and families. The full text of the letter is below.

Letter text

Dear Senators Tuberville and Britt and Representatives Aderholt, Rogers, Sewell, Palmer, Moore, Strong and Figures:

Congratulations on your election to the 119th Congress. As you know, the new Administration and Congressional Majority have made plans to prioritize extending and potentially expanding the 2017 tax law (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA), which is set to expire. We urge you to use the expiration of these provisions as an opportunity to address long-standing inequities with our tax code and to raise more revenue to meet our country’s current obligations and address critical unmet needs.

No matter what you look like or where you’re from, we all believe in caring for our families and community. People in our state work hard and are watching what happens in Congress. We give our all in so many ways: working as teachers, delivery drivers and nurses, volunteering at the local food bank or neighborhood cleanup, and caring for our friends and loved ones. Regardless of who they voted for in November, the vast majority of Americans were not voting to give another tax cut to the wealthy, or for another corporate tax cut.

The 2017 tax law failed in many ways, and there’s no mandate to repeat the mistakes of the past.

  • The proponents of these tax cuts said big corporate tax cuts would trickle down to big increases in wages for workers – but the typical worker got nothing from it.
  • They said the bill would pay for itself – but it actually increased the deficit by $2 trillion.
  • They said the tax cuts would create jobs – but the evidence doesn’t show that.

If Congress decides to give new corporate tax cuts and extend other provisions of the TCJA, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says it would increase deficits by about $7.5 trillion over 10 years. We also know that the Administration’s tax plan favors the rich. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that it would lead “to a tax cut for the richest 5 percent of Americans and a tax increase for the other 95 percent of Americans.”

Americans want you to meet the moment and put the future and well-being of all of us ahead of tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected. Alabamians prioritize funding services and taxing the wealthy by a wide, bipartisan margin. According to a recent survey:

  • 75% of Alabamians support raising taxes on wealthy corporations.
  • 75% of Alabamians support raising taxes on the wealthiest households in the nation.
  • 76% of Alabamians support raising taxes on households earning more than $400,000 annually.
  • 73% of Alabamians support increasing child tax credits for Alabama families.

Our 56 collective organizations work daily to reduce poverty, expand economic opportunity and create good jobs here in Alabama. Our missions speak directly to the importance of how you and the new Congress act on taxes in the next few months.

The tax code is one of our most powerful tools to shape the economy, but it too often has been used to divide us. For too long, the tax code has been slanted toward the wealthy and large corporations, and the economy, our country, and communities and families across Alabama have suffered as a result. The expiration of key provisions of the TCJA in 2025 is a rare opportunity to unite the vast majority of people who want to correct longstanding inequity in our tax code, and to help produce an economy that works for all Americans.

We urge you and all members of the Alabama delegation to reject renewed or expanded tax cuts for the wealthiest people in our society. And we urge you instead to provide meaningful tax reductions for ordinary families in Alabama and nationwide through an expanded Child Tax Credit and expanded Earned Income Tax Credit.

We appreciate your service and look forward to watching your efforts in the new year.

Signatories

Sincerely,

  1. AIDS Alabama
  2. Alabama Arise
  3. Alabama Black Women’s Roundtable
  4. Alabama Council on Human Relations
  5. Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP)  
  6. Alabama Forward
  7. Alabama Institute for Social Justice
  8. Alabama Justice Initiative
  9. Alabama Poor People’s Campaign
  10. Alabama Rivers Alliance
  11. Alabama State Association of Cooperatives
  12. Alabama State Conference of the NAACP
  13. All Saints Episcopal Church – Mobile
  14. Auburn United Methodist Church
  15. Baptist Church of the Covenant – Birmingham
  16. Bay Area Women Coalition – Mobile
  17. Beloved Community Church (United Church of Christ) – Birmingham
  18. Church Women United – Mobile
  19. Church Women United – Montgomery
  20. Collaborative Solutions, Inc.
  21. Community Enabler – Anniston
  22. East Lake United Methodist Church
  23. Faith in Action Alabama
  24. Fall Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Services
  25. Feeding Alabama
  26. First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) – Montgomery
  27. Five Horizons Health Services
  28. Grace Presbyterian Church – Tuscaloosa
  29. Greater Birmingham Ministries
  30. Interfaith Mission Service – Huntsville
  31. Jobs to Move America
  32. The Knights & Orchids Society
  33. League of Women Voters of Alabama
  34. Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
  35. Mary’s House Catholic Worker – Birmingham
  36. National Association of Social Workers – Alabama Chapter
  37. National Lawyers’ Guild – Alabama Chapter
  38. North Alabama Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO
  39. North Alabama Peace Network
  40. Open Table United Church of Christ – Mobile
  41. The People’s Justice Council
  42. The People’s Loan Program
  43. Professional Association of Social Workers in HIV & AIDS
  44. Progressive Women of Northeast Alabama
  45. Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty
  46. St. Paul UMC – Birmingham
  47. Sisters of Mercy in Alabama – Mobile
  48. Stand Up Mobile
  49. Thrive Alabama
  50. Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham
  51. Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Montgomery
  52. United for a Fair Economy
  53. United Women of Color – Huntsville
  54. Valley Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) – Mountain Brook
  55. WAWC Healthcare – Tuscaloosa
  56. Youth Towers – Birmingham

Alabama Arise joins state commission on elimination of state grocery tax

By Akiesha Anderson

The state sales tax on groceries is a cruel tax on survival, and Alabama Arise is committed to eliminating it. That is why I am grateful that Sen. Bobby Singleton nominated me to serve on the Joint Study Commission on Grocery Taxation on behalf of Arise. I am extremely excited about and honored for this opportunity, and I know that together, we will move Alabama closer to the goal of untaxing groceries once and for all.

How the commission came to be

After years of persistent advocacy by Arise members, policymakers took an important step toward tax justice this year by passing HB 479, a law that will cut the state grocery tax in half. The first decrease – from 4% to 3% – took effect in September 2023. The next decrease – from 3% to 2% – will occur in September 2024, or in the first year when Education Trust Fund (ETF) revenues grow by at least 3.5% annually.

Arise supports eliminating the state grocery tax sustainably and responsibly. That means ending the tax while also protecting vital funding for public schools. Lawmakers created the Grocery Tax Commission this year to figure out a pathway to do that.

This commission formed as the result of HJR 243 by Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery. The commission’s purpose is “to study a proposed elimination of the sales and use tax on food items,” according to the enabling legislation.

Arise’s testimony on untaxing groceries

I testified during the Grocery Tax Commission’s first meeting on Nov. 14 about the importance of untaxing groceries to help Alabama families make ends meet. And I suggested ways that Alabama could make it happen, including capping or eliminating the state deduction for federal income taxes.

Watch my testimony here, and download my presentation here.

I was one of three presenters at the first meeting. The others were representatives from the Alabama Grocers Association and the Fiscal Division of the Legislative Services Agency. During my presentation, I spoke about:

  • Arise’s 30-year history of advocating to reduce and ultimately eliminate the state’s grocery tax.
  • The harmful impact that taxing groceries has on families with low incomes.
  • Ways in which Alabama compares to other states regarding taxing groceries.
  • Innovative solutions and ways to eliminate the remainder of the state’s grocery tax while protecting the ETF.

What will happen next

In serving on the commission, Arise is charged with helping to evaluate the effects of eliminating the state sales and use tax on groceries. The factors we will help assess include:

(1) Household expenses of Alabamians with low and moderate incomes.
(2) Education Trust Fund revenues.
(3) County and municipal revenue collection.
(4) Community food banks and other nonprofit organizations that provide food.
(5) Hunger and malnutrition experienced by children and older adults.

Here is the full list of commission members:

  • Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre – co-chair of the Grocery Tax Commission 
  • Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery – co-chair of the Grocery Tax Commission 
  • Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville – House Ways and Means Education Committee chair and sponsor of HB 479
  • Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur – Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee chair
  • Rep. Troy Stubbs, R-Wetumpka – appointee of Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter
  • Akiesha Anderson (Alabama Arise) – appointee of Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro
  • Michael Coleman (Heart of Alabama Food Bank) – nonprofit representative appointed by Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper
  • Rosemary Elebash – representative of the National Federation of Independent Business
  • Catherine Gayle Fuller – staffer for and appointee of Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth
  • Allison King (Alabama Education Association) – designee of House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville
  • Wade Payne (Mitchell Grocery Co.) – representative of the Alabama Grocers Association

The Grocery Tax Commission will meet periodically between now and 2026, when it will release findings and recommendations. The next meeting will be in 2024. Arise will work closely with the commission in the coming years to lay the groundwork for eliminating the state grocery tax forever.