OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – In late January, Governor Stitt signed an executive order reviewing potential cuts to essential programs like Medicaid or SNAP. Faith leaders are now speaking out.
“The gospel of Jesus doesn’t look like what it sounds like in your state,” said Jesse Jackson Jr., pastor of East Sixth Street Christian Church.
The executive order essentially complies with the federal government’s mandate to reduce the number of people participating in the program.
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It’s titled Stitt’s Comprehensive Welfare Reform. The Trump administration, especially around the One Big Beautiful Act, has begun fining states for errors or fraud.
Lawmakers say Oklahoma has one of the highest false pass rates in the country. According to OBBB, if the error rate exceeds 6 percent, states must pay the price. For Oklahoma, the annual cost could exceed $250 million.
This is just an example. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority told lawmakers this week that they were not asking for a budget increase, but for an increase of nearly $500 million. Director Clay Bullard pointed to Medicaid expansion and suggested cutting it would save significant money.
Governor Stitt’s order requires agencies to review various programs in a timely manner, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and other related programs that are overseen and reviewed by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS), the Oklahoma Agency for Health Care (OHCA), the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), and the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC).
Lawmakers worry it could lead to cuts to essential programs.
“We saw in November that with the federal shutdown, even a small amount of benefits being cut off had a significant impact on people’s household budgets. So we have to make sure that the system doesn’t push people out unnecessarily, and that’s a concern I have with Medicaid,” said Sen. Julia Cotter (D-OKC).
But Governor Stitt once again called on churches and nonprofits to step forward. “We measure compassion by the number of people who no longer need welfare assistance because they become self-reliant through meaningful employment,” Stitt said in his release.
He added, “Government is not a jobs program and it cannot solve all social problems. Many of the needs Oklahomans face can be met by local churches, nonprofits and neighbors.”
Over the years, the governor has repeatedly called on churches and nonprofits to replace government programs.
When talking about homelessness issues surrounding Operation Safe last year, he said in part: “I’m not solving the homelessness problem, okay? That’s up to the churches and the nonprofits and the mental health agencies.”
When the summer EBT program, which used tax dollars to provide free lunches to the poorest schoolchildren, was eliminated, he noted that churches and nonprofits could pick up the slack.
Several religious leaders who spoke to News 4 said they already do most of what’s asked of them, but if the state is getting tax dollars through the project, then the state should work to do that.
In 2020, a majority of voters approved a state question to add Medicaid expansion to the state constitution. Now, the governor, legislators and several others are proposing removing it from the state constitution and making it a state issue.
“Our government has given up on the least of them. That’s problematic,” the Rev. Jackson Jr. said.
Rev. Jackson Jr. has served as a faith leader in the church for more than 30 years. The church itself has served the metro community for over 100 years.
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“They (Medicaid and SNAP) need to be fully funded. They certainly don’t need to be cut. They certainly don’t need to be eliminated,” said Pastor Jackson Jr. “There certainly aren’t any resources that allow a church to do more than what we’re doing. We can’t always do everything because we’re a small church. But we also don’t limit who helps.”
He said they had been given everything the state had advised them to accept. Some members of his 70-member congregation also receive Medicaid and SNAP.
Gov. Stitt said in an interview last week that they wanted to see if it was possible to cut Medicaid numbers in half. If churches pick up the slack there, it could mean churches and nonprofits will be saddled with millions of dollars in medical debt.
Can you handle half of the Medicaid beneficiaries and help them financially immediately?
“No, we can’t feed everyone,” the Rev. Jackson Jr. responded.
“I’m sure the church would be happy to address this issue if possible,” said Pastor Brock Wallace of Calumet United Methodist Church.
Wallace’s congregation is smaller, only about 30 people. He said he’s not a political person, left or right, whatever. But, he said, it’s not realistic if his church needs to take on more work.
“I would be very, very surprised if the church could take on the majority of medical debt,” Pastor Wallace said. “I just don’t know if that’s really possible.”
“When you are given the responsibility to legislate and make people’s lives better, you go in the opposite direction, which is to abandon your God-given responsibility. You are failing God’s people,” Pastor Jackson said.
The Rev. Jackson Jr. pointed to Oklahoma’s problem of giving more money and tax breaks to the rich instead of the poorest, leading to more problems across the state.
“That’s problematic. So instead of trying to put this on the congregation, on people who are already struggling, who have been doing something, who have been in this ministry for several years, obviously what we’re doing is not fully subsidizing everything, when these government programs are fully funded, whatever they are,” Pastor Jackson Jr. said.
If Governor Stitt were sitting here, what would you say on this issue?
“I would ask the governor, what do I say to the governor, because you proudly preach Christianity, the gospel of Jesus, it doesn’t look like what it sounds like in your state. It doesn’t. It doesn’t. It looks very different. That’s what makes you a Christian, not what you preach, not what you say you believe, but what you do,” said Rev. Jackson Jr.
Governor Stitt’s executive order requires agencies to review error rates, fraud protocols, eligibility rules, and benefit cliffs within 90 days and submit an “Oklahoma Workfare Report” to the governor and legislative leaders.
It said that within 120 days of the order, agencies will identify and apply for waivers to reduce federal bureaucracy and tailor programs for Oklahoma families. It then orders agencies to work with existing programs to direct adults into employment, training and education. They will implement identity verification, data matching and unified metrics across agencies. The implementation plan should be submitted within 180 days of the order and be accompanied by an annual public report.
“I encourage Oklahoma’s faith-based and nonprofit communities to join the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives to help meet the needs of Oklahomans,” Governor Stitt said in the release.
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