CA congressman slams ‘appalling’ federal cuts during SLO County tour
More than a year into President Donald Trump’s second term, San Luis Obispo County residents are increasingly being crushed by rising costs on everything from housing to health care premiums, according to Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal.
On Wednesday, Carbajal kicked off an “Affordability Tour” across SLO and Santa Barbara counties, meeting with local residents to see firsthand how federal policy is affecting their lives.
He visited City Farm SLO, where he spoke with farm leaders about regenerative agriculture practices and land stewardship — as well as the funding cuts they’ve seen at the hand of the Trump administration.
Carbajal later stopped at Cuesta College to see how local students were faring amid climbing living and education costs and then headed to the SLO Noor Foundation to hear about rising health care needs among the county’s uninsured population.
Carbajal said the constant mantra he heard from everybody he encountered, ranging from families to medical patients and restaurant workers, is that the price to live is too high.
For the average American, necessities like rent, child care, groceries and health care premiums are unaffordable, Carbajal told The Tribune.
“All of these essentials — everyday cost of living — are skyrocketing, and our colleagues across the aisle are not doing anything about it,” he said.
Carbajal talks agriculture policy at City Farm SLO
Carbajal braved the post-thunderstorm mud at City Farm SLO on Wednesday morning, where he received a tour, got a rundown of the farm’s mission and values and learned how the organization has been hit by federal impacts.
He also befriended a few chickens while he was at it.
Executive director Kayla Rutland and farm operations coordinator Kate DiTrani spoke with Carbajal about the farm’s sustainability practices and educational programs.
City Farm SLO largely farms by hand and is committed to regenerative agriculture, a practice that focuses on maintaining soil health and biodiversity.
The nonprofit also contracts with school districts to provide locally grown produce for student meals, and then brings students onsite to learn about agriculture and food systems.
DiTrani led Carbajal on a tour of the front garden, through a greenhouse full of butter lettuce and cherry tomatoes and toward the back of the Calle Joaquin property to visit a couple flocks of chickens.
During the tour, Rutland and DiTrani spoke about how some of the programs that help support the farm’s partnerships with schools and local food banks have been disrupted by federal funding cuts.
Both the Local Food Purchase Assistance program and the Local Food for Schools programs, which supported food banks and schools in purchasing fresh, locally grown foods, were cut in March 2025.
Rutland also described how rising material costs have interrupted the farm’s construction plans.
Carbajal blamed these challenges on the Trump administration.
“Not only are we, is this administration implementing tariffs, a huge tax on the American people and small businesses, but they’re canceling programs that help agriculture,” he said.
Rutland said she’s seen programs for small farmers disappear, while large-scale productions get more support.
“That trend seems to be increasing, and the support for the smaller guys doing the right thing seems to be getting crossed out,” she said.
Carbajal said he’s leaving the Central Coast for Washington D.C. a day earlier than planned, so he can work on a “skinny farm bill,” which could fill some of the gaps in agriculture legislation that weren’t covered by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to a Congress FAQ.
He hopes the bill will restore some of the food assistance supports for low-income families and programs for small farmers that were eliminated during the first year of Trump’s second term.
“It’s perfect timing,” he said, “because I’ll be asking these questions.”
In an interview after the tour, DiTrani expanded on the impacts of federal decisions that the farm has faced over the last year. She said the farm has seen programming support cut, trickle-down funding impacts and staffing challenges due to changes at AmeriCorps.
DiTrani saw Carbajal’s visit as a chance to advocate for small-scale farmers and highlight the challenges they face.
“We feel very honored,” she said. “It’s important for us to have them come out here, because these are important national conversations to be had.”
During his visit, Carbajal wasn’t shy about calling out the Trump administration for its contribution to rising costs for families on the Central Coast and beyond.
“It’s important to highlight that their pain is real and that we need to do more to address their plight,” Carbajal told reporters after the tour. “And yes, I’m pointing the finger at this administration for exacerbating this affordability crisis.”
SLO County congressman visits medical clinic for the uninsured
In the afternoon, Carbajal met with staff and volunteers who run the SLO Noor Foundation, a San Luis Obispo-based medical clinic that provides free medical, dental and vision care to adults without health insurance.
The clinic has experienced a 15% uptick in patients since November due to a surge of individuals seeking a no-cost health care option in the wake of the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law in July.
Over the next decade, the bill effectively eliminates $1 trillion in funding to Medicaid — the federal and state-funded program that offers health care to low-income individuals. More than 13,000 Medi-Cal recipients in SLO County are at risk of losing coverage due to new work requirements and stricter renewal timelines, The Tribune previously reported.
During Carbajal’s tour of the facility and its mobile clinic — which serves uninsured Paso Robles residents — he said the bill would have devastating consequences for the county’s most vulnerable populations. And in turn, result in poorer health for all communities.
“It’s appalling and unfathomable that we would approach our healthcare delivery system with such reckless decisions and actions at the federal level,” he said.
The SLO Noor Foundation’s executive director Barbara Alarcon said the bill’s repercussions are “absolutely straining” their resources as the clinic continues to see a rise in patients, who are typically already sick with chronic conditions.
While the medical center currently only serves adults, she said there’s also an increased need for free pediatric care as more children in the area lose their health insurance.
Throughout 2025, the clinic had 6,000 visits from 2,000 unique patients, Alarcon said. Currently, the clinic is open Monday through Thursday and has three medical rooms, two paid providers and several volunteers. But it is looking into adding providers and remaining open on Fridays to meet rising need in the future, she added.
The foundation offers patients preventative and primary care, though it will help and provide resources and direction to any uninsured person who walks in the door — all free of any charges, she said.
“I want them to know that we are here, we are here for them, and that we will pay for the lab work, and we will pay for the images,” Alarcon told The Tribune. “So come as you are, we accept you as you are, and we will take good care of you.”
Over a late lunch of taquitos, charred jalapenos and carne asada — donated from a Noor patient who runs a Los Osos food truck — Carbajal said the country’s health care system has taken several steps backward since the passing of what he called the “One, Big, Ugly Bill.”
He said the only way to rectify the harm that’s already been done is to vote in the November midterm election.
“Then Democrats will have the real checks and balance that is needed to stop the damage, to stop this runaway train — the chaos, that dysfunction, the dismantling of so many of the things that provide stability for affordability,” Carbajal said.
This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 12:26 PM.
