With cuts to Medicaid on the federal chopping block, local advocates are speaking up, urging Congress to protect funding and access to the critical social service program that roughly two million New Jerseyans rely on for health care, including one out of every three children here.

At a Statehouse press conference today, they reminded federal lawmakers cuts to Medicaid will affect the most vulnerable.

Ted Goldberg reports.

Cutting Medicaid is not fiscally responsible.

It's a moral failure.

It says billionaires deserve bigger yachts more than my sons deserve a future.

Teresa Luoni is the mother of two autistic boys and says cuts to Medicaid would be devastating for her family.

Medicaid is not just a program to us.

It's our lifeline.

It provides the therapies that help my sons eventually speak a word, hold my hand, or look into my eyes.

Without these services, my boys cannot continue to grow into the independent, productive citizens they are capable of becoming.

NJ Family Care is how New Jersey manages Medicaid, providing services to one in five people statewide.

Advocates say if Congress removes funding from Medicaid, it will make life a lot harder for vulnerable people.

My seniors may have to go without medication because Medicare is going to be cut.

Many of the elders my providers serve are not eligible for other types of insurance.

Without Medicaid, it will either be private pay or no care.

90% or more of the children and youth living in foster care in New Jersey are on Medicaid.

Congress is considering cutting more than a trillion dollars in spending over the next ten years.

Congressman Tom Kaine Jr. says protecting Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare is a sacred task that we have.

We need to ensure that we also get out the waste, the fraud, and the abuse that's endemic all too often in government spending right now.

And we can do both.

Fellow Republican Jeff Van Drew added, "Let me be clear.

I will never support cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security that are not specifically aimed at reducing waste, fraud, or abuse.

These programs are vital to the people I represent and must be protected.

But we need real reform."

There is simply no way to achieve such dramatic savings without drastic and painful cuts to New Jersey's Medicaid and SNAP programs.

Sarah Adelman leads New Jersey's Department of Human Services, which manages NJ Family Care.

She told the Senate Budget Committee what would happen if federal funding is slashed.

We will have to take a hard look at things like who is eligible, what benefits are provided, and how we reimburse providers for services.

State Senate Republicans didn't publicly support the cuts, but they asked if this was a chance to reduce spending.

Are we doing everything we can to make sure we're controlling costs?

Have we looked at those audits?

Have we made sure that we've expanded and we're taking into account all sources of income?

These are things that we took a serious look at.

We have enabled automated Department of Labor income verification data over the past years.

And then on top of that, we continue to use verified current income using Equifax.

Senator Michael Testa also questioned Adelman over Cover All Kids, a state initiative that provides health care to all children regardless of immigration status.

We are really proud that New Jersey is a state that provides universal access to affordable, accessible, high quality health care for all children.

That's a value that we hope the budget process will continue to support.

Republican Congressman Chris Smith also voted for the cost-cutting budget, while all of New Jersey's Democrats voted against it.

The GOP has a seven-member edge in the House, so every vote will count when it comes to possible cuts.

At the Statehouse, I'm Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

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