The Price of Priorities

Guest Opinion by Amanda Pusczek

As the January 30th shutdown deadline looms, Congress is once again wrestling with a 1,059-page behemoth of a funding bill. Within its dense pages lies a roadmap of our national priorities—and for Alabamians, the directions are alarming.

Despite a chorus of national concern regarding the reach of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), this bill allocates an additional $18 billion per year to the agency. To be clear: that is $18 billion on top of existing surges.

The fiscal trajectory is staggering. Earlier planning for 2025 had already set aside $10 billion for ICE. Then came the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which injected another $75 billion over four years. By the time the ink dries, ICE is on track to receive $36 billion in 2026 alone.

And yet.

Alabama’s education system—which depends on federal funding for 40% of its budget—is bracing for a collapse. A federal pause on $68 million in education grants has already stretched our schools to the breaking point. This strain will only intensify as the CHOOSE Act expands to $250 million by 2027, removing income caps and diverting public resources toward $7,000-per-student vouchers.

At the same time, our state has eliminated all funding for fresh fruits and vegetables in schools.

The cost to feed our children and support our local farmers was roughly $16 million—a literal rounding error in the federal budget. We found billions for enforcement, but not a cent for a child’s lunch.

And yet.

Our Representatives have voted down Affordable Care Act subsidies at every turn, even though 10% of our neighbors rely on them to stay alive. Now, federal changes threaten Medicaid enrollment for up to 200,000 Alabamians. This isn't just a loss of paperwork; it is a death knell for our infrastructure. These decisions have placed 52 of our rural hospitals at risk of closing within the next two years.

And yet.

Proposed changes to SNAP threaten to shift massive costs onto the state, endangering food security for 750,000 Alabamians. The results are as predictable as they are cruel: hungrier families, struggling local grocers, and the further desolation of communities already living in food deserts.

And yet.The very leaders sent to Washington to fight for Alabama continue to vote against our survival.

They have traded the interests of their constituents for the whims of a party and the ego of one man. There is a complicit cruelty in these votes—a willingness to tear families apart and hollow out our towns while claiming to be our champions.

Is this leadership? In one of the reddest states in the union, we must ask: Is their loyalty to the party, or to the people?

Our Representatives return home demanding praise for the Rural Health Transformation Program, boasting of $203 million in funding—a pittance that might save a handful of hospitals while dozens more prepare to lock their doors. They celebrate tax cuts that put $600 in the pockets of average Alabamians while handing $14,700 to the wealthiest households.

They shovel endless billions toward ICE, then suddenly discover the virtues of "fiscal responsibility" when it comes to educating our students or keeping our rural hospitals open.

Make no mistake—there is a certain glee in this destruction. We see the fallout every day.

Children are disappearing from school rolls out of fear, only to reappear in headlines about child labor abuses. Construction projects have frozen, leaving families without homes. Small businesses are shuttering.

This is not abstract political theater. There is a real human cost to these decisions, paid in shortened lives, lost opportunities, and a diminished quality of life. From our rural outposts to our bustling cities, Alabama is bearing the burden of Washington’s misplaced devotion.

The men and women sent to protect us have chosen to look away. Worse, they think we are foolish enough to let them.

Amanda Pusczek is a seasoned medical professional and lifelong advocate for marginalized and “othered” communities. Her decades of nursing have shown her what policy failures look like in real life — families bankrupted by illness, rural hospitals shuttered, patients turned away. Amanda is running for Congress as a Democrat in Alabama’s 4th District because care should not depend on your ZIP code, income, or job.

For more information, visit https://www.amandaforalabama.com or follow her on social media.

Opinions do not reflect the views and opinions of ALPolitics.com. ALPolitics.com makes no claims nor assumes any responsibility for the information and opinions expressed above.