The U.S. House voted 215-214 Thursday for a budget bill that would make basic needs like food and health care more expensive for millions of families through severe cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid and other human services. These funding cuts would finance efforts to renew or expand tax cuts for wealthy people and highly profitable corporations.
“It’s wrong to hurt people who are struggling to help people who are already doing well. But the U.S. House just voted for a budget bill that would do exactly that,“ Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said.
Read Arise’s full statement on the House’s destructive bill.
“This cruel budget plan would take away food assistance, health coverage and other vital services from hundreds of thousands of Alabamians who struggle to afford basic needs. And it would make those cuts in service of slashing taxes for billionaires and highly profitable corporations.”
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Alabamians would be especially at risk from the proposed SNAP cuts. The federal government has fully funded SNAP benefits for decades, but the House bill would require states to begin paying for a portion of those benefits. The bill also would shift more of the cost of SNAP administration to states.
As a result of this cost shift, Alabama would be on the hook for nearly $300 million a year in direct benefits and administrative costs. If state lawmakers couldn’t or wouldn’t provide that additional funding, Alabama could cut SNAP benefits significantly – or even eliminate the program for nearly 800,000 participants statewide.
“The Senate should put the future and well-being of all of us ahead of tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected,” Hyden said. “That means rejecting the House bill’s harmful service cuts for working people and tax giveaways to wealthy households.” How you can take action
Read our full statement on why the U.S. Senate should reject harmful cuts to food assistance and health coverage.
Call and email your U.S. senators and urge them to oppose cuts to SNAP and Medicaid. |
