Shreveport Council to Vote on Resolutions Against Federal Cuts, Tariffs

SHREVEPORT, LA - The Shreveport City Council is poised to pass 3 resolutions opposing some actions of the Trump administration.

The Council has proposed the following resolutions:

A resolution opposing cuts to national aid programs.

A resolution opposing the mass firings of federal employees.

A resolution opposing tariffs against trading partners.

Similar resolutions were put before the Caddo Parish Commission last week, but the measures failed on a 6-5 vote (the resolutions needed 7 votes). Greg Young was absent and these resolutions are expected to be put back on the agenda at the next meeting.

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Many are questioning why the City Council is getting involved in national politics. Council Chairwoman Tabatha Taylor says "Any time you talk about diminishing programs that are essential to ones life, it is critical. We are not federal legislators. We are local legislators and I think it is imperative that our federal legislators hear what our constituents are saying."

She says "when you talk about diminishing Social Security or disrupting the Medicare or Medicaid system, there has to be a voice." She says people are afraid when they hear about all the cuts happening in the federal system.

Councilman Alan Jackson says the changes at the federal level do impact us in Shreveport. He says "when resources are taken, you can expect crime to increase. Any place that has no opportunity will be a place filled with crime."

He says Shreveport can't afford for resources to be taken away from local families. He says local leaders must speak out against this cuts. He says "we are the voices of this city. We are only asking the powers that be to hear their cry in hopes that a different decision will be made."

But critics of these resolutions say these Council members are fanning the flames of fear. President Trump has repeated his pledge over and over again to NOT cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.

This is information from the White House about cutting waste, fraud and abuse:

• FACT: The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates taxpayers lose as much as $521 billion annually to fraud — and most of that is within entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.
• FACT: Over the past two decades, the federal government has made an estimated $2.7 trillion in “improper payments” — the majority of which come in the form of “payments to deceased individuals or those who no longer [are] eligible for government programs.”
• FACT: The Social Security Administration made an estimated $72 billion in improper payments between 2015 and 2022.
• FACT: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimated it made $140+ billion in improper payments in 2024 alone.

One can only wonder if we cut out the fraud and abuse, how much more good can be done with that money?