WATCH: Senator Joni Ernst Tells Constituents Concerned About Medicaid and SNAP 'Well, We Are All Going to Die.'

Ernst has signaled her support for the ‘big, beautiful bill’ that could strip healthcare from 281,000 Iowans

Washington D.C. – At her town hall this morning in Butler County, Joni Ernst met a crowd that was demanding answers, not empty talking points. When confronted with the fact that the Republican House budget bill could be a death sentence for those it kicks off Medicaid and SNAP, Ernst responded with: “Well we all are going to die.”

116,707 Iowans depend on SNAP, of whom thousands could lose their food assistance. In Iowa, more than:

• 64 percent of SNAP participants are families with children

• 35 percent are families with members who are older adults or are disabled

• 50 percent are in working families.

281,000 Iowans could lose their healthcare because of Medicaid cuts. Iowa providers have warned that these cuts to Medicaid will threaten the rural hospitals Iowans rely on. Among Medicaid enrollees in Iowa,

• 2 in 5 (40 percent) are children

• 2 in 5 live in rural areas

• 1 in 7 have three or more chronic conditions.