Congresswoman Maxine Waters delivered a powerful speech to a packed crowd at KJLH’s 25th Annual Women’s Health Expo. The KJLH Women’s Health Expo is one of the largest health events for women in the state. This year’s theme – The Silver Lining: 25 Years of Building Generational Health – honors the legacy and impact of the event, as well as the dedication to advancing the health and empowerment of women and families across Southern California. Under Stevie Wonder’s leadership, this annual event continues to grow and features hundreds of exhibitors showcasing health, wellness, beauty, fitness, and lifestyle resources, tailored to women and families.
The Congresswoman released the following statement:
“Each year since the expo was founded, I am so pleased to join KLJH in advancing the health and wellness of women and families. The founders of this Expo knew that women wanted information about their health and needed better connections with health care providers, so that they could take control of their health and the health of their families.
As the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, I’ve been raising the alarm – in the halls of Congress and back here in Los Angeles — about the disastrous impact of Donald Trump’s policies. I was absolutely appalled to learn of the Trump administration’s plans to slash more than $30 billion from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in his budget for next year. That is more than one quarter of the department’s budget.
This cruel and senseless budget would dismantle the life-saving programs that enable Americans to stay healthy – from medical research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to disease prevention by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – from substance use treatment by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to the training of our nation’s future health care workforce.
You might be wondering: What can I do, as an ordinary citizen, to fight back against Trump’s attack on our institutions and way of life? What can I do to stop cuts to Medicaid and other life-saving health care programs?
We have to be out there in the streets. We need to make our voices heard and show that we won’t stand silently by while they take away our benefits and destroy our government. Trump’s relentless assault on our institutions and individual freedoms is not just dangerous; it is a coup in slow motion. And we all must be committed to defending our democracy before it’s too late”.
