In House Speaker Mike Johnson’s backyard, many residents rely on anti-poverty programs to help make ends meet — and are pleading with the Louisiana Republican to protect those benefits as Congress weighs steep federal spending cuts.

Christina Martin, an advocacy leader for Louisiana Developmental Disability Council's Advocacy Network, relies on Medicaid for herself, her daughter, who has a rare chromosome disorder and autism, and her father, a 56-year-old liver transplant patient.