Kids with disabilities are lobbying the US legislature
Who's visiting US lawmakers?
A group of children with disabilities and their parents visited with the US Capital to encourage legislators to vote against pending legislation that would reduce funding for Medicaid, a source of support for themselves and others .The families identified themselves as “Little Lobbyists.” The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would cut the Medicaid funding provided to people with low incomes in the US, and the US Senate is considering a different version of the legislation, one that is makes even deeper cuts that the House version.
Writing for the New York Times on 19 June 2025, Megan Mineiro and Margo Sanger-Katz reported under the headline “‘Little Lobbyists’ Urge Senators to Oppose Trump’s Bill Cutting Medicaid: Children with disabilities and their parents who rely on the health insurance program took to Capitol Hill this week to warn that the proposed reductions could be ‘devastating’” The article has wonderful photos by NYTimes photographer, Eric Lee. Here is the lede for their story:
Landry Bell, a 1-year-old boy who was born with Down syndrome, wriggled and smiled in his big sister’s lap on the floor outside Republican Senator Mike Lee’s office this week as he took a break from going office to office with his mother while she explained how cuts to Medicaid would devastate their family.
Wearing a bright blue T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Little Lobbyists,” Landry was among a group of children with serious medical needs who crisscrossed the Capitol with their parents urging senators to vote “no” on the sprawling Republican bill carrying President Trump’s agenda. The legislation would cut deeply into Medicaid to help pay for large tax cuts that would benefit businesses and the richest Americans.
Little Lobbyists Family Alliance is a US charitable organization that has been advocating for individuals with disabilities at least since 2018. On its Web site, the group wrote “We're Little Lobbyists and we're here to change the narrative on disabled children.”
US Senator Cory Booker published a video of himself speaking to a contingent of Little Lobbyists on 9 May 20025. The video is available on Senator Booker’s YouTube channel.