Editor’s note: On June 23, the Coalition on Human Needs and a broad coalition of 190 national and state & local organizations urged Congress to reject further cuts to basic needs programs through a potential “Reconciliation 3.0” package or any other legislative vehicle. The organizations warn Congress that additional cuts would increase hardship for families already struggling with the rising costs of food, housing, health care, and other necessities.The letter remains open for additional signers until July 10. Your organization can sign on here.

June 23, 2026

Dear Representative/Senator:

The 191 undersigned organizations, who represent a broad set of stakeholders who care about human needs, urge you to prioritize protecting people struggling to make ends meet by rejecting further cuts to basic needs programs via a “Reconciliation 3.0” package or other legislative vehicle.

We represent human service providers, faith groups, national, state, and local policy experts, and civil rights, labor, and other organizations concerned with meeting the needs of people with low incomes. We are deeply concerned about families struggling with rising costs of health care, food, housing, and other human needs, and many in our networks are dealing with the aftermath of H.R. 1’s historic cuts to basic needs programs including SNAP, Medicaid and the ACA, higher education, the Child Tax Credit, and other human needs programs. We’re already seeing the impacts, for example:

• From enactment of H.R. 1 last year through February 2026, more than 3.5 million people lost access to SNAP’s food assistance including more than 700,000 children;
• 4 million children have lost Medicaid/CHIP coverage with experts flagging that many more are losing coverage in 2026;
• CMS’s new Medicaid work reporting rule is creating confusion and chaos for states and will harm patients;
• More than 15 states proposing or already taking away care from people with disabilities and older adults through cuts to Medicaid home and community based services;
• Approximately 5 million fewer Americans have coverage via ACA marketplaces while millions more grapple with higher premium costs;
• 6 million American citizen children with parents who don’t have Social Security numbers lost access to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) while one in four children (19 million) are left out of the full value of the CTC; and
• Lawfully present immigrants, including seniors who have long participated in Medicare, are already losing access to health and food assistance.

At a time when many are dealing with rising costs and policy changes that make it harder to put food on the table and access health coverage, we are alarmed about reports that House leaders are looking to fast track additional cuts to basic needs programs via another reconciliation package, further increasing hardship for families across the country and disrupting the lives of low-income working families, service providers, and localities. Nationwide, community-based organizations have struggled to address increased needs in their communities, exacerbated by rising costs, while facing uncertainties about funding for programs (we note that over 500 organizations urged Congress to “insist that the Administration follow authorizing and appropriations law across all federal agencies”).

Polling shows the widespread support for protecting basic needs programs, and advocates including children’s groups and disability advocates have sounded the alarm about the impact of budget decisions on local communities. Families are facing a basic needs crisis and further cuts to basic needs programs will only exacerbate the hardship that families, providers, and local policymakers are grappling with every day by making it harder for families to buy food, access care and health services, pay rent, and more. We believe Congress must protect health care, care services that enable older adults and people with disabilities to remain in their homes, child care, the Earned Income Tax Credit, food assistance, housing, and other basic needs programs, not exacerbate families’ everyday crises. The undersigned organizations urge you to reject any Reconciliation 3.0 package that threatens human needs and instead work with Leadership along with colleagues to protect and strengthen basic needs programs.

Sincerely yours,

The list below reflects signing organizations as of 2 PM ET, June 23, 2026.

National organizations:

• AACTE (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education)
• AIDS United
• All4Ed
• Alliance to End Hunger
• Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools
• American Friends Service Committee
• American Network of Community Options and Resources
• American Society of Nephrology
• Americans for Tax Fairness
• Autistic Self Advocacy Network
• Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
• Big Cities Health Coalition
• Caring Across Generations
• Children’s HealthWatch
• Church World Service
• Climate Justice Alliance
• Clinical Social Work Association
• Coalition on Human Needs
• Common Threads
• Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Region
• Cure KCNH1 Foundation
• EdTrust
• Faith in Action Network
• Faithful America
• Family Values @ Work
• First Focus Campaign for Children
• First Focus on Children
• Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
• HealthBegins
• HIV Medicine Association
• Human Appeal
• Hunger Free America
• Institute for Educational Leadership
• MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
• Meals on Wheels America
• Muslim Advocates
• National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
• National Alliance to End Sexual Violence
• National Association for College Admission Counseling
• National Association of Counsel for Children
• National Center on Adoption and Permanency
• National Center on Domestic Violence Trauma and Mental Health
• National Coalition for the Homeless
• National Council for Community and Education Partnerships
• National Council of Churches USA
• National Council of Jewish Women
• National Domestic Violence Hotline
• National Health Care for the Homeless Council
• National Immigration Law Center
• National Organization for Women
• National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
• National Skills Coalition
• National Urban League
• National Women’s Political Caucus
• NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
• Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies
• Oxfam America
• Popular Democracy
• PrEP4All
• Prevent Blindness
• Prevention Institute
• Progressive Democrats of America
• Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)
• Share Our Strength
• Sisters of Mercy of the Americas’ Justice Team
• Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque, Iowa
• Society for Public Health Education
• The Advocacy Institute
• The Arc of the United States
• UnidosUS
• Union for Reform Judaism
• Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice
• Voices of Health Care Action
• Win Without War
• Youth First Justice Collaborative
• Youth Law Center
• ZERO TO THREE

Local and state organizations:

• Action Wellness
• Alabama Arise
• Alaska Children’s Trust
• Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
• Ashland County Aging Unit, Inc.
• Asian Resources, Inc.
• Being Alive/People with AIDS Action Coalition
• Bet Tzedek Legal Services
• Black Children’s Institute of Tennessee
• Blue Ridge Independent Living Center
• Center for Community Solutions
• Charlotte Trans Health
• Children’s Advocacy Alliance
• Children’s Institute
• Church Of St Francis Xavier
• Citizen Action of New York
• Clare Housing
• Coalition of CA Welfare Rights Organizations
• Colorado Consumer Health Initiative
• Common Good Iowa
• Community of Caring
• Connecticut Voices for Children
• Creative Innovative
• DeKalb County Community Mental Health Board
• Dientes Community Dental Care
• Disability Rights Ohio
• Disability Rights Oregon
• Dominican Sisters Ministry of Presence
• East Bay Housing Organizations
• East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
• East Boston Social Centers
• Equality California
• Faith Commons
• Family Focus
• Five Horizons Health Services
• Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls Minnesota
• Gather
• Glide Foundation
• Greater Boston Legal Services, on behalf of our clients
• Grow Food Northampton
• Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice
• Health Action New Mexico
• Housing Action Illinois
• Hunger Solutions New York
• Illinois Collaboration on Youth
• Independence Alliance
• Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute
• Iowa Hunger Coalition
• Just Harvest
• Kentucky Voices for Health
• Klamath and Lake Community Action Services
• Legal Aid Justice Center
• Life Start Inc.
• Locker Project
• Long Island Center for Independent Living (LICIL)
• Maine Council of Churches
• Meals4Families
• Mental Health Association of NW PA
• Michigan Council for Maternal Child Health
• Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association
• Minnesota Prenatal to Three Coalition
• Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative
• Mountain Resource Center
• New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Inc. (NJAMHAA)
• NH Hunger Solutions
• NH Peace Action
• Niagara Community Action Program, Inc.
• NYPAN of the Southern Finger Lakes
• Oasis Legal Services
• Ohio APSE
• Ohio Olmstead Task Force
• Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless
• Orange County United Way
• Oregon Public Health Association
• Parable of the Sower Cooperative
• PathPoint
• Praxis Health Empowerment
• Pride Community Center of the Brazos Valley
• Progress Center for Independent Living
• Promise Arizona
• San Mateo County Pride Center
• Serving at-risk families everywhere, Inc.
• Sister Carmen Community Center
• Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston
• Snake River Alliance
• Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning
• St. Matthew Trinity Lunchtime Ministry
• Steuben County Habitat for Humanity
• The Ability Center of Greater Toledo
• The Arc of Aurora
• The Children’s Agenda
• The Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA)
• The Food Group
• The Freedom Center, Inc.
• The SOURCE
• The Village at Glencliff
• Thorne Nature Experience
• TRII/Dignidad
• Tzedek DC
• University District Food Bank
• Utah Housing Coalition
• Utahns Against Hunger
• Valley Oak Children’s Services
• Violence Free Minnesota
• Vivent Health
• VNA Community Services
• Voices for Vermont’s Children
• Voices Of Hope
• WA Housing Alliance
• Wellbeing Revolution: Leading with Heart & Strategy – loto ma’a, ngutu kovi
• Women Employed
• Wyoming Community Foundation
• YWCA Columbus
• YWCA of Kauai