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Jamie is a mother of four, photographer, writer, and attorney living in Washington, DC.
Jamie Davis Smith
Blog Post List
April 17, 2018
Tax day is a good time to revisit the many ways in which the GOP tax scam and Trump's policies will hurt families like mine. I delivered this speech on behalf of Little Lobbyists at a Tax March rally in February with Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Congressional representatives and civil rights activists. My name is Jamie Davis Smith and I live in Washington, DC with my four children. My oldest is Claire. She is 11, she loves to go out, she loves everything Disney, and I can tell she’s angry that we're here again. I’m speaking for her because she cannot speak for herself. She was born with a...
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November 30, 2017
The Senate is set to vote this week on the most sweeping tax bill in a generation. This is no dry bill making small adjustments to the tax code. Instead, it is a bill that will affect nearly every aspect of life for average Americans from education to home ownership; from health care to child care; from safety net programs to help the neediest members of our community to how drug research is performed. I’m a not a policy expert, lobbyist or politician. What I am is a Mother who is terrified of how this bill will affect families like mine and those not as fortunate as me. Earlier this week I...
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November 6, 2017
Let’s face it – safety net programs like Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the medical expenses deduction have a bad rap. For decades we have heard myths about undeserving “welfare Moms” and able-bodied young adults who could work but rely on government subsidies instead. We have been told over and over again that these lazy, unethical people are taking advantage of the system and needlessly placing an undue tax burden on working middle class families. As a result, millions of Americans who rely on these programs have been...
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September 27, 2017
Thank you for having me here today. My name is Jamie Davis Smith. I’m a proud MomsRising member from Washington, DC and the mother of four young children, including my wonderful 11-year-old Claire. Claire was born with a serious genetic disorder. Her heart is in the wrong place and part of her brain is missing. She is unable to speak, walk steadily, use the bathroom alone, or feed herself. She requires close supervision and tremendous support from family and health care workers to get through each day. Not surprisingly, Claire has had countless medical needs over her short life. In fact, her...
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July 20, 2017
The latest attempt by Congressional Republicans to dismantle Medicaid and other medical care protections for millions of Americans is dead for now, but the fight is not over. Americans across the country, of all races, every income level, and varying levels of health are faced with a proposal to repeal Obamacare protections without replacing them with anything at all. For many, their lives are literally on the line in this battle. My daughter Claire is one of them. Her life depends on Medicaid protections she is able to access through the Katie Beckett program initiated by Ronald Regan...
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June 21, 2017
When a child is born ill or with disabilities, there is love, but there is also fear. Fear of what will happen during the endless medical procedures, what kind life the child might live, how life will be different than what was imagined and fear of paying for it all. When my daughter Claire was born almost 11 years ago, her health and future were uncertain. Born with a rare genetic disorder that affects nearly every part of her body, Claire spent time in the neo-natal intensive care unit, had heart surgery when she was 4 months old, and endured test after test after test to figure out the...
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