Mike Lawler, the House member for New York's 17th District, voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which KFF projects will leave 860,000 more New Yorkers without health insurance in 2034 as its Medicaid and SNAP cuts fall hardest on the lowest-income households.
Lawler's May 2025 vote was needed to pass the House version, and his February 2025 vote decided the budget resolution that ordered at least $230 billion in savings from the committee that writes SNAP law and $880 billion from the committee over Medicaid. People without homes lost their SNAP time-limit exemption in the final law, which he voted for on July 3, 2025.
Mike Lawler's Votes on Aid for Low-Income and Homeless New Yorkers
- The Poorest Households Lose Ground While the Top Tenth Gains $13,600 a Year Under the Law Lawler Voted For in 2025. On July 3, 2025, Mike Lawler voted for the final One Big Beautiful Bill Act, approved 218 to 214, two months after his vote was among the 215 that narrowly passed the House version over 214. By the Congressional Budget Office's analysis, the top tenth of households comes out about $13,600 a year ahead under the law while the lowest-income households lose, in large part because of its Medicaid and SNAP cuts; the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities puts the SNAP reduction alone at $187 billion through 2034, more than the program has ever been cut. The final law also took away the time-limit exemptions that homeless people, veterans and former foster youth had, and the Congressional Budget Office projects a net drop of 300,000 participants from those groups.
- Lawler's Deciding Budget Vote Set Deficit-Reduction Floors of $230 Billion and $880 Billion for the SNAP and Medicaid Committees, in February 2025. Lawler voted for H.Con.Res. 14 on February 25, 2025, adopted 217 to 215, so his switch alone would have tied it, and a tie fails. The resolution set floors of $230 billion in deficit reduction for the Agriculture Committee, which handles SNAP, and $880 billion for the Energy and Commerce Committee, which handles Medicaid. Each committee was told it "shall submit changes in laws within its jurisdiction" to reach its number, which put SNAP and Medicaid law on the table.
What the Cuts Mike Lawler Voted For Mean for Low-Income New Yorkers
- 80,500 children and 49,900 expansion adults in Lawler's district depend on Medicaid. KFF data show Medicaid covered 80,500 children and 49,900 adults enrolled through the expansion in New York's 17th District in 2025; for low-income families there, the federal Medicaid money the law cuts is what pays for a child's checkup or a parent's prescription.
- Older New Yorkers and parents of teenagers can lose SNAP after three months under the new time limit. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates from June 2025, prepared for a Senate Agriculture Committee plan with the same expanded time limit the law adopted, put 125,000 New Yorkers ages 55 to 64 and 80,000 parents whose youngest child is 14 or older at risk of losing SNAP each month; for a family near the poverty line, that is grocery money gone after three months.
- As many as 1.07 million more New Yorkers could be uninsured in 2034. KFF's range for the law's effect on New York's uninsured in 2034 runs from 640,000 to 1,070,000 people, with 860,000 as its central estimate; losing coverage leaves low-income New Yorkers choosing between medical bills and rent.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mike Lawler on Homelessness and poverty
What is Mike Lawler's record on poverty and homelessness under Trump?
Under Trump, Mike Lawler voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025 after his vote decided the House version in May; the Congressional Budget Office finds the law leaves the lowest-income households with fewer resources while the top tenth gains about $13,600 a year. His deciding February 2025 vote passed a budget resolution assigning deficit-reduction quotas to the Agriculture and Energy and Commerce committees, which write SNAP and Medicaid law. The final law he voted for in July takes $187 billion out of SNAP and ends SNAP's exemption from the time limit for homeless people.
Do the poorest families in the Hudson Valley come out behind under the law Mike Lawler voted for?
The Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the law Mike Lawler voted for says yes for the lowest-income households nationally: they end up $1,200 a year worse off on average in household resources, Thomson Reuters Checkpoint reports. In New York's 17th District, 222,200 people relied on Medicaid in 2025, the program behind much of that loss.
Did Mike Lawler vote to cut SNAP for homeless New Yorkers?
On July 3, 2025, Mike Lawler voted for the law that removed homeless people's exemption from SNAP's three-month time limit, after his deciding vote for a budget plan demanding $230 billion or more from the committee that writes SNAP law. A homeless adult who cannot document 80 hours of work or training a month can now lose food aid after three months.
Last updated: 2026-10-27