Rhode Island
Democrats assail federal budget bill, but what will it really mean for RI? What we know.
House passes ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ heads to Trump’s desk next
Republicans’ sweeping bill to cut taxes and slash benefit programs like Medicaid has passed the House and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The sweeping federal budget bill passed by Congress and expected to be signed by President Donald Trump on July 4 calls for major changes to taxation and social programs, but the impact on Rhode Island could take years to determine.
The bill’s tax cuts for businesses and individuals will, in general, take effect imminently, including an increase in the standard deduction, no taxes on tips and an increase in deductions for state and local tax payments.
New restrictions on public benefits − including work requirements for food stamps and health insurance − phase in this year and next.
And spending cuts feared by state officials in both red and blue states − including reductions in federal Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) − will not take effect until 2028, after the 2026 elections.
Will a special fall session of the General Assembly be needed?
In debate about the just-enacted $14.3 billion Rhode Island budget, General Assembly leaders said they might be forced to hold a special fall session to respond to any federal cuts or policy changes that would throw state plans out of whack.
The delayed effective dates for the Medicaid and SNAP cuts make a special session less likely, but Assembly leaders on July 3 would not rule anything out and said they would need “a thoughtful review and formal information-sharing on the possible short- and long-term impacts of federal government action.”
RI’s Democratic leaders assail reduced access to food assistance, Medicaid
All four members of Rhode Island’s all-Democratic congressional delegation voted against the bill, and the ruling State House triumvirate of governor, speaker and Senate president all opposed the GOP bill.
“For many of our neighbors, this budget reduces access to supports like SNAP food assistance. It puts health insurance for thousands of Rhode Islanders in jeopardy, breaking President Trump’s empty promise to protect Medicaid,” Gov. Dan McKee said in a video.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Valarie Lawson said in a joint statement that they would work to pass policies that “protect access to health care like we did in this year’s state budget.”
“We believe it is cruel for Republicans in Washington to pay for large tax breaks for billionaires by stripping Medicaid from vulnerable residents, which will potentially destabilize health care systems at the state level,” Shekarchi and Lawson’s statement said.
RI GOP: Bill delivers ‘massive tax relief,’ cuts to ‘reckless’ spending
Rhode Island Republicans, on the other hand, hailed the new budget bill.
“This bill delivers exactly what President Trump and Republicans promised, massive tax relief for the middle class, real border security to protect our communities, and deep cuts to reckless Washington spending,” state GOP Chairman Joe Powers said. “Democrats in both chambers had the chance to stand with working Americans, and instead, they stood in lockstep with their radical base. Make no mistake – Rhode Islanders won’t forget who fought for them, and who sold them out.”
The just-passed state budget requires the McKee administration to convene a series of advisory groups to analyze the state impacts of the new federal budget. Separate reports from these groups are due to the legislature by Oct. 31 on potential changes to federal grants, state tax revenue and Medicaid.
Biggest impact on RI: Health care
Provisions in the bill expected to sock the state budget include a reduction in “State Directed” payments to hospitals and forced reductions to health care provider taxes that states charge hospitals to leverage additional federal Medicaid dollars.
McKee spokeswoman Laura Hart said state agencies “have been meeting bi-weekly since February to review potential impacts of the various versions of the budget bill” and are currently identifying people to be on the different working groups required by the Assembly.
The budget bill also targets the state’s Affordable Care Act-created health benefits exchange by shortening the enrollment period, narrowing subsidy eligibility, and requiring additional paperwork to enroll or renew.
Loss of enrollment due to the changes is projected to result in premium increases across health insurance plans on the exchange due to a smaller covered population.
“Simply put, the bill makes health coverage harder to get, more difficult to keep and far too expensive to afford,” HealthSource RI Director Lindsay Lang said in a news release. “The effects of the bill will compound each year, likely resulting in significant rate increases for anyone still left in the market.”
Reactions from RI’s congressional delegation
The Rhode Island congressional delegation weighed in with a range of criticism of the budget bill.
Sen. Jack Reed said, “Republicans structured the bill so the ultra-wealthy can cash out right away while the little guy and average taxpayers will get stuck paying the bill for years to come.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said, “Trump’s Big, Beautiful-for-Billionaires Bill” was “cooked in back rooms” and “saddles our children and grandchildren with trillions and trillions of dollars in debt.”
U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner said the bill “represents the largest transfer of wealth from working people to the ultra-wealthy in U.S. history.”
And U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo said the bill will make Americans “poorer, sicker, hungrier, and further away from economic opportunity.”
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Health professionals are warning Rhode Islanders to look out for a fast-moving threat in the brush this summer: the Lone star tick.
NBC 10’s Martha Konstandinidis went out to see the increase in ticks firsthand and has some simple steps to protect your family.
(WJAR) — The Rhode Island House has passed a Bill that offers a rare alternative when considering end-of-life options: water cremation and human composting.
These processes are actually considered better for the environment.
Instead of being rooted in flames during cremation, remains are placed in water and no greenhouse gases are released.
Tom Harries, CEO of Earth Funeral – Green Funeral Home, explains the natural organic reduction also known as human composting, process while standing in front of an actual vessel in the warehouse during a tour at their new location, which will open in Elkridge. Eventually it will house 126 vessels. Jeffrey F. Bill/Baltimore Sun)
Last year NBC 10 was able to get a first-hand look into how it works.
The John F. Tierney Funeral Home in Connecticut became one of the first in Southern New England to offer water cremation or “Aquamation” for humans.
Remains are placed into a machine, and water begins to circulate, leaving bone material behind.
Human composting uses fertile soil to break down remains.
Lawmakers on both sides spoke before the vote.
It passed 47-17.
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It now heads to the Senate.
(WJAR) — Rhode Island mayors are spending taxpayer dollars on out-of-state travel, attending conferences, summits, and networking events across the country while away from the cities they were elected to lead.
Public records obtained by the NBC 10 I-Team shows the mayors of Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls used public funds for out-of-state travel between March 2025 and March 2026. The mayors of Cranston, East Providence, and North Providence traveled out of state during that period but reported spending no taxpayer money on those trips.
Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien spent $5,061.60 tied to 20 days of out-of-state travel, including $2,676.39 in city funds.
Grebien’s trips included the AGRIP Conference with the Rhode Island Interlocal Trust, Rhode Island Day in Washington, a Business Leaders Day conference hosted by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Veterans Honor Flight, and a medical mission to Cape Verde with Project Health.
Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien spoke about his travel. (WJAR)
“I try to use the least amount of city dollars, use some campaign, and then put some of the private as well,” Grebien said. “I do understand the perception, and that’s why I’m very, very careful.”
Asked how much time at conferences is spent working versus networking, Grebien said, “It’s probably honestly 60-40, 60% work and 40% off time by the time you get everything going.”
Several Rhode Island mayors attended Rhode Island Day in Washington alongside the state’s congressional delegation, despite lawmakers regularly returning to Rhode Island.
Grebien defended the trips as an opportunity to meet federal officials and pursue funding opportunities for the city.
“We are able on those days to go down and meet with department heads, so we have a lot of grants that we are in front of — HUD, the National Park Service — so it gives us that opportunity while we are there to do that,” he said.
Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien spent $5,061.60 tied to 20 days of out-of-state travel, including $2,676.39 in city funds. (WJAR)
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley spent more than 30 days out of state during the one-year period, according to records.
“Most of my travel is with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is hugely valuable,” Smiley said.
Invoices show Smiley attended five conferences or summits across the country, more than any other Rhode Island mayor.
Those trips included the U.S. Conference of Mayors Summer Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida; the U.S. Conference of Mayors Fall Leadership Meeting in Oklahoma less than three months later; the North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans; the International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference in Washington; and the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Annual Meeting.
Records also show Smiley traveled to Israel with the Rhode Island Jewish Alliance and took a personal trip to Portugal.
Rhode Island mayors are spending taxpayer dollars on out-of-state travel, attending conferences, summits, and networking events across the country while away from the cities they were elected to lead.
The city spent $1,793.75 on conference registration fees for two of Smiley’s trips.
While Smiley was in Providence during the Brown University shooting, he had been traveling the week before. When asked what would happen if a trip coincided with a city emergency, Smiley said he remains accessible.
“My travel is almost entirely domestic, and I have ready access to get home quickly,” Smiley said. “I was not prevented from doing my job at any point last year or this year either.”
The investigation found Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera spent the most taxpayer money on travel during the period reviewed.
Rivera spent $3,302.23 on 17 days of out-of-state travel. That total included $717 from the police department budget for a joint trip with the city’s police chief.
Rivera traveled to Washington for the Yale Mayor’s College and CEO Caucus and Rhode Island Day, to Atlanta for the Purpose-Built Communities Conference, to Puerto Rico for the Northeast Leadership Conference hosted by the Boys & Girls Club of Rhode Island, and to Chicago for meetings with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and police chiefs.
Rivera said the trips are necessary to build relationships and secure funding opportunities for Central Falls.
“Not every community has a $22 million budget, right? A lot of these communities have more funding,” Rivera said.
Central Falls City Hall. (WJAR)
Rivera pointed to a connection she made during a trip to Chicago that later resulted in funding for the city.
“This was a relationship I built when I went on one of these trips and I was able to get $25,000 for our summer food service program for this year,” she said.
When asked why she does not personally pay for conference travel, Rivera said the costs are difficult to cover privately.
“I wish I could pay for these trips out of my pocket, but it’s really hard,” Rivera said. “I am very careful. We get requests all the time. I don’t go to all these trips.”
Rivera was also the only mayor interviewed who said she canceled travel plans because of a city emergency, including a February 2026 trip to Washington that coincided with a blizzard.
Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins spent six days out of state attending two national conferences but reported spending no city funds on the travel.
Those conferences included the Community Leaders of America CLA|FCL South Carolina Spring National Conference in April 2025 and the CLA|FCL South Dakota Fall National Conference in October 2025. Attendance for both trips was paid for by the conference organization.
East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva spent 12 days out of the city on two international trips, also without spending city funds.
DaSilva’s office says he traveled to Cabo Verde in July 2025 with several state and local leaders to celebrate the country’s 50th anniversary of independence. He also traveled to Sao Miguel in the Azores in June 2025 for the “Sister Cities Summit,” which was paid for by FLAD, the Luso-American Development Foundation.
North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi spent 26 days out of state on five personal trips or vacations and one charitable honor flight, according to records reviewed by the I-Team.
The town said no city or campaign funds were used for Lombardi’s travel.
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