CANCER RESEARCH “[C]ancer centers have struggled to fund new discovery projects in precision therapy, quality of life, and artificial intelligence for diseases such as prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and brain tumors,” the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) wrote in a statement.6 “Innovative statewide cancer clinical trial programs, such as one in North Carolina, are now on hold.” ““Cancer research is stalling — labs are in limbo, grants are frozen, and the development of life-saving treatments is delayed,” agreed Olivier Elemento, PhD, director of the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, New York. [cancertherapyadvisor.com]

VETERANS “The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting over 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency that provides health care and other services for millions of veterans.” There are approximately 607,500 veterans residing in Georgia. [apnews.com] [usafacts.org]

FUNDING FOR CLEAN AIR, WATER, ETC. “Proposed EPA Budget Slashes Support for State Environmental Programs” State environmental programs rely on federal funding for an average of 27% of their budgets. The president’s proposed EPA budget cuts $1.4 billion from money going to the states, which will have to make up the difference or suffer deterioration of their environmental quality For example, in Georgia, the proposed budget would cut 65% of Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water grants, or $137,530,900. [environmentalprotectionnetwork.org]

RESEARCH FUNDING AT UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA UGA ranks #1 in the country for the number of products going to the commercial market from its research. [teknovation.net]

TARIFFS The April 9th tariffs could cost the average American family $4,700 this year in increased costs, according to a study by the Yale Budget Lab. Analysis shows that close to 25,000 jobs in Congressional District 10 could be hit by foreign tariffs placed on goods in retaliation for Pres. Trump’s tariffs . [budgetlab.yale.edu] [nytimes.com]

SCHOOL FOOD & GEORGIA FARMERS The U.S. Department of Agriculture has canceled more than $1 billion for schools and child care facilities to purchase fresh food from nearby farms and ranches, it was reported March 10th. Georgia was one of 40 states participating in the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program. State School Superintendent Richard Woods, a Republican, said the funds would “allow our school nutrition programs to provide more Georgia foods for Georgia’s students.” Last year, the Georgia Department of Education reported that a pilot project helped more than 80 county school districts buy Georgia Grown products for school meals for about 900,000 students. [politico.com] [atlantajournalconstitution.com]

ECONOMY The Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank maintains a running forecast of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product called GDPNow, which reflects the current state of the economy. When the tariffs went into effect on March 4, the GDPNow estimated a first quarter decline of 2.8%. A decline of this size, if continuing, would lead to a recession. Yale’s Budget Lab estimates that the tariffs will cost the average household $1,600 to $2,000 a year. [barrons.com] [budgetlab.yale.edu]

EDUCATION The president wants to create an executive order to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. “The Department of Education’s a big con job,” he told reporters last month. During the 2020-2021 school year, federal funding provided approximately 16% ($4.4 billion) of total school funding for Georgia’s K-12 public schools. “Diminishing the department could have profound effects in Georgia and other states. It budgeted $18.6 billion in Title I funds to schools in high-poverty areas for the 2025 fiscal year. It also budgets $15.7 billion for programs that support students with special needs. It provides student aid for colleges and universities, including Pell Grants. Trump has talked about giving more authority over education to state governments.” [educationdata.org] [nbcnews.com] [ajc.com]

CAR PRICES Tariffs of 25% for Mexican and Canadian products and 20% for Chinese products will raise car prices by up to $12,000. Less expensive cars will be especially hard hit, as the profit margin is slim for car makers of those models and may lead to the more affordable cars being phased out. [Bloomberg News]

FARMERS Cuts to USAID meant Georgia farmers lost contracts worth $80 million in 2025 alone. [CNN]

HEALTHCARE & CHILDREN Cuts to MEDICAID will affect the 35% of Georgia’s school-age children who depend on Medicaid for their healthcare needs. [GBPI.org]

HEALTH As of April 1st, 2,400 staff members of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in Atlanta have been dismissed in the Reduction in Force (RIF). That doesn’t include approximately 1,300 “probationary” workers who were fired in February but are supposed to be rehired as per a federal court decision. This will lead to reduced capacity to respond to disease outbreaks and will strain the CDC’s ability to respond to emergencies. [fox5Atlanta.com] [statnews.com]

SOCIAL SECURITY Almost 2 million Georgia residents (retired workers, disabled workers, and survivors) receive Social Security benefits. DOGE has proposed cutting the workforce of the Social Security Administration by at least 7,000 (and possibly 50% eventually), and closing many offices, including five in Georgia. This will greatly increase waiting times on phone calls and make it difficult for recipients to get help. In GA Congressional House District 10, there are 155,277 beneficiaries relying on Social Security. In addition, unelected billionaire Elon Musk, who wields power in DOGE, has stated falsely that Social Security is a “Ponzi Scheme.” “Martin O’Malley, a former commissioner of the agency, has warned that the workforce reductions that DOGE is seeking at Social Security could trigger ‘system collapse and an interruption of benefits’ within the next one to three months.” [theatlantic.com] [ssa.gov] [wrdw.com]

PRIVACY DOGE staffers have access to Americans’ sensitive financial and health data through records in the Social Security Administration, Medicare, and the IRS. These staffers have little or no government experience and their work is being done without oversight. Some of the staff members have known ties to racist or Russian organizations. [thenationallaw review.org] [NYTimes.com]

FARMERS & HEALTH Cuts to the CDC have decimated research on Bird Flu, which strikes chicken and egg producers. The CD10 counties of Oglethorpe, Jackson, and Madison are Georgia’s top producers of eggs and also produce large quantities of broilers. [WUGA.org] [georgiaencyclopedia.org]