NAACP Brooklyn Branch's Statement on the Senate’s government funding deal that fails to address rising healthcare costs

Advocates have supported Senate leaders across the country while they made their stance clear through a weeks long filibuster. There could be no continuing resolution that fails to make healthcare more affordable abandons millions of working families already in crisis. Any bill that does not protect Affordable Care Act subsidies or meaningfully lower prescription drug prices fails to meet the moment. This is not progress, it is a step backward for everyday New Yorkers fighting to stay healthy, care for their families, and maintain economic stability. In times like these, we need bold leadership anchored in justice, not political convenience.

Here in Brooklyn, our communities have endured uncertainty and deep hardship. We have watched neighborhood clinics close, healthcare premiums rise, and public services essential to our well-being fall under threat. Despite these challenges, New Yorkers continue to show resilience. But resilience alone cannot carry a community—leadership and accountability must, too.

Our elected officials must hold firm in their commitment to equity, justice, and economic fairness. The people paying the price for federal inaction are those least able to afford it—families making impossible choices between rent, medication, and groceries. The Senate’s current funding deal ignores that reality. We urge our Senate and House leaders to reject any measure that leaves low-income communities and communities of color behind.

Brooklyn deserves better. America deserves better. We can and must fund our government without sacrificing the health and dignity of our people.