The Senate is expected to vote on its version of the Big Brutal Bill this week and—like its House counterpart—it’s devastating for nutrition and health care programs for vulnerable communities.
The Senate proposal includes the largest cut to SNAP in history, as part of a budget package that guts basic needs programs.
The bill also contains the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, and will result in 16 million people losing their health insurance. A recent analysis of the House-passed bill found that because of the cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, and reduced staffing requirements at nursing homes, 51,000 people will die each year.
Additionally, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as many as 330 rural hospitals nationwide could close or reduce services as a result of this bill. And, new research shows that cuts to Medicaid along with SNAP will reduce jobs by 1.2 million nationwide, equivalent to about a 0.8% increase in the unemployment rate.
Cutting the heart out of basic needs programs including SNAP and Medicaid doesn’t save states or the federal government money—it denies care and creates bigger problems down the road, shifting the burden to service providers, local governments, and taxpayers. This will lead to higher costs and more strain on budgets—household and state budgets alike. And it will cost lives.
It’s not too late to change course. Now more than ever, it’s critical that the Senate act to protect health care, nutrition, and other essential services that help millions of families meet their basic needs. We should strengthen support for these programs—not take them away
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CHN sent this letter to all Senators, asking them to reject the budget resolution which will pave the way for deep cuts to food assistance and health care, turbocharge family separation and mass deportation, and set the stage for huge tax breaks that benefit the wealthy.
Blog post by CBPP- CHN’s member | The House budget resolution calls for massive cuts in Medicaid and in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that would raise the cost of health care and groceries for people struggling to make ends meet.
Blog post by the Southern Poverty Law Center, CHN’s member | There are days when Andrew Sanders walks miles for a hot meal from a soup kitchen. “It hurts like hell,” he said. “I’m dying for something to eat.”
Blog post by UnidosUS- CHN’s member | If the pending House Budget Resolution passes and is implemented in Budget Reconciliation, the SNAP (food stamps) would experience its largest cuts in history.
Thousands of people die each year waiting for disability benefits and millions of Americans now face real barriers to accessing their earned benefits after paying in over their entire working lives.
Blog post by the Southern Poverty Law Center, CHN’s member | The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a budget resolution in late February that proposes billions of dollars in cuts that would force major changes to Medicaid.
Blog post by RESULTS, CHN’s member | Tens of millions of Americans like me rely on public programs to get back on their feet. The GOP wants to slash that help to fund tax breaks for billionaires.
Blog post by RESULTS, CHN’s member. Cutting SNAP negatively impacts local economies, farmers, grocers, and restaurants. It forces families to choose between food, rent, and health care.
Eventually, we’ll all need care or will be caregivers ourselves. Now’s the time to start investing in a stronger care infrastructure.
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I took a mini-version of the SNAP Challenge – to see what I could buy for the approximately $6 for one day that SNAP now provides for one person.