The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau - Episode 81 - 05/18/25

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.    

For the past two years, the Keystone State has had an ally on the powerful House Agriculture Committee, 15th District Republican Congressman Glenn "GT" Thompson, who serves as the committee chairman.   He's a staunch supporter of President Trump, and along with the 28 other Republicans on the committee, helped to pass a bill that would will fundamentally change the way this country pays for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.  The goal is to help advance Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Budget Bill," keeping tax cuts in place and beefing up border security by slashing many government programs across the board.   

But former Biden administration Deputy Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Xochitl Torres Small says the bill will take a wrecking ball to the supplemental nutrition assistance program, known by many as food stamps, and negatively impact Pennsylvania farmers, seniors, children, and millions who rely on "food stamps" to help them buy food each month.  We speak with her about the implications of these potential cuts.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the latest numbers from the CDC do not paint a rosy picture of Americans' mental health.  About 20% of all adults in this country live with some form of mental illness, while 1 in 6 youth have a mental health condition, and less that half of them are receiving any treatment.  Dr. Matthew Hurford, President and CEO of UPMC's Community Care Behavioral Health Organization believes talking openly about mental health issues is the best way to de-stigmatize this illness and provide dignity to those who are dealing with it.