PATERSON - A lot of the debate in Washington about cuts in Medicaid and similar programs boils down to dollars and comments like, "This is going to hurt hospitals."

"What people in Washington do is ... try to make it faceless," said Mikie Sherrill, the CD-11 congresswoman and Democratic gubernatorial candidate.

Some of this is unavoidable in discussing national issues in Congress.

Nonetheless, Sherrill and Sen. Andy Kim came to this city Friday afternoon to put some faces to the debate.

Their landing spot was Eva's Village, which is quite the success story.

The outpost was founded as a soup kitchen more than 40 years ago by then-Monsignor Vincent Puma. As it describes itself:

"At the beginning, Eva’s Kitchen served simple meals of franks and beans to 30 hungry guests. It quickly became a community hub offering free medical and mental health screenings, as well as referrals to substance use programs, social services, and job opportunities.
A few years later emergency shelters were opened, followed by treatment and recovery programs for individuals suffering from addiction.
Over the last four decades, following in Msgr. Puma’s vision, countless volunteers, thousands of supporters, innumerable community groups, and dedicated staff have worked to integrate and expand the supportive services to meet our most vulnerable neighbors’ urgent needs.
Today, the Community Kitchen at Eva’s Village serves close to 1,000 meals a day and serves as a pathway to social services and behavioral health programs addressing hunger, homelessness, poverty, addiction and mental health issues, helping thousands of men, women, and children each year. "

Kim and Sherrill chatted with the lunch crowd.

At one point, the senator agreed with one diner that prices are rising.

"We've got to stop those tariffs," he said,

Later, Sherrill and Kim held a brief roundtable discussion with clients, whose lives have improved.

One woman said that when she arrived at the village five months ago, she did not know "up from down."

Another woman wearing a shirt with the creative message, "hell was boring," said she hit rock bottom when she was living in a tent with her two children.

"I can't imagine how that feels like," Kim said. "But I'm glad you're on a better path."

That's the point - and the problem.

Howard L. Haughton, the CEO of the village, said its annual budget of $15 million to $16 million is supported by government grants, federal programs such as Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps) and private donations. Government aid, especially, is now being threatened.

The so-called "big, beautiful bill" passed the House by one vote and is now being debated in the Senate.

Kim said some of the proposed changes made by the Senate are making things worse in terms of cutting Medicaid and support for hospitals. He called it the "worst" bill he has seen since coming to Congress in 2019.

Assuming there are changes, if the bill passes the Senate, it would need to be voted on again by the House.

Would some House Republicans balk? One of the proposed Senate changes would not raise the SALT deduction cap to $40,000, as the House bill does,

Sherrill was not optimistic about that, saying she expected House Republicans to do whatever Donald Trump wants.

By the way, there is an election for governor this year.

Kim made sure no one would forget that, saying Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican candidate, will stand "side by side" with Trump even if it hurts New Jersey.