John,

If Congress doesn’t pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) by September 30th, the federal government will shut down on October 1st.

But instead of coming to the table to negotiate a bipartisan bill to avert a shutdown, last night House Republicans paved the way for a vote on their partisan CR that does nothing to help millions of people access affordable health care, such as extending the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits.

When Congress passed its Big Brutal Bill, they didn’t just cut over $1 trillion from Medicaid and SNAP. They also failed to extend the enhanced ACA premium tax credits, which are now set to expire at the end of December. Now, in response, health insurance companies on the ACA marketplace are requesting premium increases starting January 1, with payments expected to rise by over 75% on average, and in a dozen states, costs will more than double.¹

At the same time, people in communities across the country are being harmed by attacks on access to food assistance, help with housing costs, early childhood programs and funding for public schools, mental health services, and other basic needs programs. Donald Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought have cancelled or frozen more than $410 billion in funding for programs, including over $1 billion in substance use and mental health treatment, $250 million for school-based mental health grants (impacting over 200 programs in 30 states), $500 million from the Emergency Food Assistance Program, $1.7 billion from programs that help communities transition to clean energy, $311 million to develop preschool programs, and $70 million from legal services that help unaccompanied migrant children.²

Send a direct message to Congress telling them to vote against any government funding bill that doesn’t protect health care, including extending the ACA premium tax credits or include a provision against Trump’s rescissions of Congressionally appropriated funding.

Trump’s dictatorial funding freezes and cancellations, on top of partisan Republican cuts, are decimating vulnerable communities and keeping us less safe. The only avenue we have available right now is for Congress to assert its constitutional duty.

By refusing to negotiate in a bipartisan manner to help millions of people maintain their health insurance and stop Trump’s cancellations of congressionally-approved spending, Trump and Congressional Republicans are driving us straight towards a shutdown, which will cause tremendous harm that will hit people with low incomes hard—disproportionately people of color, people with disabilities, and children.

After the passage of the Big Brutal bill, which cut Medicaid and SNAP funding by $1 trillion over 10 years, the last thing we want to do is create more pain for the most vulnerable.

Send a message to Congress demanding they vote against any appropriations package that does not protect health care, including the extension of the ACA enhanced premium tax credits or include guardrails to ensure that funding from bipartisan spending bills reaches the communities and people it is intended to serve.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ How much and why ACA Marketplace premiums are going up in 2026
² NEW: Weeks Away from End of Fiscal Year, Trump is Blocking $410+ Billion in Funding Owed to Communities Nationwide