*STATEMENT* How Sweeping Federal Layoffs Impact MA

In response to a series of broad and harmful layoffs across the federal government, driven by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), MassBudget President Viviana Abreu-Hernández, PhD has issued the following statement:

“The unprecedented and unplanned number of massive job cuts, targeting vital public services in areas such as health and human services, education, housing, and Social Security, will significantly impact working people and their families. Massachusetts is home to 43,942 federal employees.

This attack on public services is not only causing significant harm to federal workers and their families across our state; it will seriously undermine the government functions that families in Massachusetts rely on every day, from child care and housing assistance to heating support. As these workers are laid off, the ripple effects will also create new inefficiencies and deepen existing inequities—disrupting essential services, straining local economies, and adding unexpected burdens to the Massachusetts state budget, which relies on $16.1B dollars (25.7% of the state budget) in direct support from the federal government annually.

In particular, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announcedyesterday it was cutting 10,000 federal jobs. These layoffs include workers who are essential to Head Start, a pillar in the child care sector that has supported millions of children and their families since 1965. These mass firings resulted in the immediate closure of five regional Head Start officesincluding the Boston office, which oversees programs in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

As of today, there are over 30,000 low-income children waiting for child care assistance in Massachusetts. This waitlist is currently frozen because there is not enough funding to meet the need, and any further disruptions will seriously worsen the situation. These staffing cuts will have widespread, harmful effects on the operations of Head Start, and could result in additional families needing state support for child care. Head Start currently serves more than 10,000 Massachusetts children 0 to 5 years old.

We are deeply concerned for the wellbeing of the federal employees who have now lost their livelihoods, and for the families and children who rely on their work to access high-quality and affordable child care.

Along with these Head Start workers, all the federal employees responsible for implementing the Massachusetts Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), previously known as LIHEAP, were terminated. HEAP ensures low-income families can heat their homes in the winter. In FY 2023, the HEAP program served 152,011 households in Massachusetts.

The assumption that states can shoulder these federal costs is grossly misguided. Massachusetts revenue is not sufficient to support the most vulnerable communities in our state on our own. These staffing cuts will exacerbate poverty, increase unemployment and leave people who were already struggling worse off. Massachusetts would need to generate significant additional revenue to reduce the continued harm.

MassBudget works to create equitable opportunities for all. These recent actions do exactly the opposite. We urge Congress and the federal Administration to halt these cuts, and protect the workers and services that are integral to the well-being of communities across Massachusetts and the country. We call on our state officials to support critical state programs and increase our state revenue resources so we can take care of everyone in the Commonwealth.”