John,

The draconian budget reconciliation bill that is now in the Senate will severely harm at-risk communities unless substantial changes are made—and your voice is needed. In addition to unacceptable health care cuts that would leave roughly 15 million Americans uninsured, we’re sounding the alarm about historic cuts to nutrition assistance.

The $295 billion in SNAP cuts will increase hunger across the country, hitting children, seniors, and working families the hardest. At a time when food insecurity is still high in many communities, cutting SNAP is both cruel and short-sighted.

SNAP cuts mean less food on the table for millions of struggling families, children, and seniors. These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet—they are real people who depend on these lifelines to survive and live with dignity. Not only does the House force states to cover a portion of SNAP benefits for the first time, undoing a longstanding bipartisan commitment that families should get help putting food on the table no matter which state they call home, it also expands SNAP’s harsh time limits based on paperwork requirements. This will take food assistance away from roughly 3.2 million adults each month, including 1 million older adults and 800,000 parents of children as young as 7, which “would reduce food benefits for roughly 1 million children and a quarter of a million adults aged 65 or older or who have a disability”.¹

A reminder: these basic needs program cuts are meant to pay for detention and deportation of immigrants as well as massive tax breaks for the wealthy.

The Senate must do everything in its power to protect the most vulnerable members of our society. Taking away SNAP and other basic needs programs does the exact opposite.

Send a message to the Senate and tell them to reject the harmful cuts passed by the House in their disastrous budget reconciliation bill.

These cuts to SNAP and other basic needs programs will be used partly to fund the Trump administration’s often-illegal detention and deportation of immigrants, many of whom have legal status that the administration is either ignoring or attempting to overturn. These new policies are inhumane and destructive to our communities and economy. One in four children in the U.S. has an immigrant parent—and these attacks will cause long-term harm.² Undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022.³ All immigrants paid over $650 billion in taxes.⁵

Many basic needs programs already exclude immigrants who are not documented. The House bill undermines a bipartisan consensus dating from 1996 that qualified immigrants such as trafficking and domestic violence victims, refugees, and asylum seekers should be able to access basic needs programs including SNAP, the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Federal Student Aid eligibility. This bill also takes the Child Tax Credit away from 4.5 million children because a parent does not have a Social Security Number.⁵

Immigrants work disproportionately in in-demand industries, such as agriculture, construction, and long-term care. The administration’s attacks jeopardize the country’s badly needed workforce—and our overall economy and society.

Families and communities will feel the compounding impact of cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, Medicare, and other basic needs programs, making the combined budget package even more reckless. That’s not good for our society or economy. Now more than ever, it’s critical that Congress protect health care, nutrition, education, and other essential services that help millions of families meet their basic needs. We should strengthen support for these programs—not take them away. We need each and every Senator to get a strong and clear message that their constituents oppose these harmful proposals.

Tell the Senate: Reject attacks on our communities in the budget reconciliation bill.

Thank you for all you do,

Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, CHN Action

¹ House Reconciliation Bill Proposes Deepest SNAP Cut in History, Would Take Food Assistance Away From Millions of Low-Income Families
² Part of Us: A Data-Driven Look at Children of Immigrants
³ Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants
⁴ Where immigrants pay the most taxes
⁵ NILC Breakdown and Analysis of House Reconciliation Legislation

-- DEBORAH'S EMAIL --

John,

Last week, House Republicans passed their disastrous budget reconciliation bill by a single vote. Now the legislation heads to the Senate, where we have a chance to undo some of the devastating harms of this bill before it’s too late.

Make no mistake: this bill takes from low- and middle-income people to give trillions to the rich and corporations by extending and expanding tax breaks. This is in part paid for by inflicting an $800 billion cut to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, a $295 billion cut to SNAP nutrition assistance, and even making cuts to Medicare—all programs people need to survive.

Send a direct message to the Senate telling them to reject these harmful cuts that will have devastating consequences on our communities for generations to come.

The proposed legislation would eliminate Medicaid’s payment of Medicare Part B premiums, placing a heavy financial burden on the lowest-income seniors and people with disabilities. These individuals cannot afford to absorb these costs, and many will be forced to forgo the care they need simply to survive. The bill also breaks Medicare’s promise to immigrants here legally who have been paying into the system for decades, taking health care away from those who are eligible for Medicare under current law.

These attacks on Medicare are part of far-reaching damage to access to health care, affecting millions of people nationwide.

Additionally, the harsh cuts proposed for Medicaid will put local health care providers at risk and force rural hospitals and nursing homes to close, shutter drug treatment programs and reduce access to mental health services, and make it harder for everyone to access the health care they need.

Millions of people with low incomes will lose access to basic needs programs providing health care and nutrition, all to extend tax breaks that primarily benefit the wealthy and corporations. We cannot keep allowing the passage of these unfair tax policies that disproportionately benefit the rich while making low-income and vulnerable communities suffer, including by taking food assistance and health care away from tens of millions.

Join us in calling on the Senate to reject draconian cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP today.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action