The Guardian: Mothers Bear Brunt Of Rising US Costs: ‘It’s Always A Fight’

March 12, 2026

PENNSYLVANIA — High child care costs have long presented a financial struggle for working mothers and families, but the recent rising cost of groceries, housing, gas, health care, and other basic necessities have hit Pennsylvania’s mothers and families hard.

Over the last year, Congressmen Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan, and Scott Perry have supported cost-raising measures such as historic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, illegal tariffs, and the repeal of clean energy tax credits. These actions have skyrocketed the cost of food, health care, and utilities for their constituents, leaving them with more expenses and fewer resources. Women - who still earn less than men for the same jobs and are more likely to take on uncompensated caregiving responsibilities - shoulder the brunt of these increased costs.

Trump’s illegal tariffs have cost Pennsylvania households over $1,700 last year. Grocery inflation is at its highest since 2022, with Pennsylvania groceries up 8.2% over the last year, more than every other state in the country. Reports estimate tariffs could cost families nearly $5,000 more in annual grocery costs. Reps. Mackenzie, Bresnahan, and Perry also supported historic cuts to SNAP in the Republican Tax Law that make it harder for families to put food on the table in Pennsylvania, where 58% of SNAP participants are families with children. Similarly, these congressmen voted to cut Medicaid by over $900 billion and failed to extend critical health care tax credits that lowered the cost of care for hundreds of thousands of their constituents. Children make up the largest single group of Medicaid beneficiaries, accounting for about 36% of the program’s enrollees. About 40% of all Pennsylvania children rely on Medicaid.

"After a lifetime of GI issues, my son was finally diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease several months after he turned 26 - just after he aged out of my insurance coverage. He was terribly sick when he was diagnosed - skin on bone with a BMI of 17 and severely anemic from daily blood loss. He relies on Medicaid for regular treatments to keep him healthy to live his life and go to work for a local nonprofit, which does not provide him with health insurance,” said Jennifer, registered nurse and mother from Dalton. “My son, like many people on Medicaid, works over forty hours a week. He receives necessary lifesaving care, works hard at a nonprofit, and serves our NEPA community in a job he loves. Rep. Bresnahan claims these cuts are addressing waste, fraud, and abuse, but we know that isn’t true. The vast majority of Medicaid recipients are children. These cuts will rip care away from hundreds of thousands of vulnerable families. As a seasoned nurse, a patient advocate, and a mother, I call on Rep. Bresnahan to reverse his Medicaid cuts to restore access to affordable and accessible care for his constituents.”

Congressmen Mackenzie, Bresnahan, and Perry are raising prices while cutting critical assistance, harming the most vulnerable members of our community - pregnant people, single mothers and low-wage workers - to benefit billionaires and big corporations. On National Working Moms Day, Affordable Pennsylvania calls on these congressmen to fight for lower costs for Pennsylvania’s mothers and families.

###