When policymakers in Washington talk about “efficiency,” “reforms” or “cost savings,” it’s easy to forget who pays the price. But here in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, the price is becoming painfully clear.
Recently, our community conducted a survey of 47 residents – mostly seniors, working families and people who depend on essential federal programs. The results paint a stark picture: More than 8 out of 10 respondents said they have been personally impacted by recent government cutbacks.
Health care, social services and access to public lands – services many of us take for granted – are being eroded by policies that put billionaires first and the rest of us last.
Here are just a few of the stories that neighbors shared:
- A nonprofit worker who can no longer guarantee support for adults with disabilities because federal grants are drying up.
- Seniors who wait months to enroll in Medicare, Medicaid or secure Social Security benefits they’ve earned through a lifetime of work.
- A researcher who lost her job overnight when federal contracts were slashed.
- A therapist whose clients can no longer afford treatment as funding disappears.
These aren’t isolated incidents. They reflect a broader pattern: politicians in Washington balancing the budget on the backs of those least able to bear it.
Our survey found that the most affected services are the ones that hold communities together. Nearly half of respondents reported losing access to health care. Another large share said public lands and social services have been undermined.
Meanwhile, 70% of respondents rely on Social Security or Medicare, programs that are now threatened by budget proposals that call for even deeper cuts.
We also asked our neighbors what they would say directly to Congress. Their messages were clear and urgent:
“Please vote against Medicaid cuts. Please.”
“Remember you serve the people, not just one man.”
“Do your job! Represent us, not billionaires.”
Some would like to pretend these impacts are exaggerated or that the pain is necessary. But when a senior loses the ability to pay for lifesaving medications, when a family can’t find affordable care for a child with disabilities, when public lands are neglected – that is not abstract policy. That is real harm to real people.
In 2025, our district also suffered the closure of West Springs Hospital in Grand Junction – the only inpatient psychiatric hospital serving the entire Western Slope. This vital facility shut down in February, laying off nearly 200 workers and leaving countless residents without access to crisis mental health care.
Additionally, Montezuma County’s crisis intervention program was going to be out of funding June 30 and forced to stop its operations. Around the same time as the West Springs closure, the Johnstown Heights Behavioral Health Hospital also closed its doors.
And in La Junta, the hospital’s labor and delivery unit was shuttered, forcing expectant mothers to drive hours to give birth safely. These closures are not accidents; they are the predictable outcome of relentless budget cuts and policy decisions that prioritize tax breaks over community health.
When mental health and maternity services disappear, families are left to fend for themselves – and too often, they pay with their well-being or even their lives.
Elected leaders must remember who they work for. They must reject efforts to dismantle the basic supports that make our communities safe, healthy and vibrant.
If you are reading this and feel the same frustration and fear, you are not alone. Speak up. Share your story. Call your representatives. Because if we stay silent, these cuts will only get deeper – and the people we love will keep paying the price.
It’s time for Congress to put people before politics and restore the funding and services that allow us to thrive as a community.
And now, with the passage of the so-called “big beautiful bill,” we are fated to even deeper, crueler cuts – proof that when politicians congratulate themselves on their victories, it’s ordinary people who are left to pick up the pieces.
Concetta C. DiRusso, Ph.D., is the George Holmes University professor of Biochemistry (Emeritus) at the University of Nebraska and fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She lives in Durango.
