Washington, DC – More than 300 young adults descended on Congress today to prevent massive cuts to both SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and Medicaid. Both social safety net programs have found themselves under threat as Congress is looking at cuts in reconciliation legislation designed to prioritize extending and expanding the 2017 tax cuts.
Contact Tim McHugh: media@fcnl.org, 202-903-2515
“More than 70 million Americans rely on Medicaid for their health coverage. More than 40 million depend on SNAP to put food on their tables. Cuts of any size to these programs will put their families and their lives at risk. That is not what Congress was elected to do,” said Bridget Moix FCNL’s general secretary. “As Quakers, we believe government has a responsibility to help the most vulnerable - not make their lives harder. We must not sacrifice these programs to give more tax breaks to billionaires and fund mass deportation of our neighbors.”
The young lobbyists come from 30 states and the District of Columbia. Many are first-time lobbyists, with this being their first visit to Capitol Hill. They will take part in more than 100 lobby visits in total.
The Friends Committee on National Legislation hosts a Spring Lobby Weekend (SLW) each year on various issues. Preserving and protecting SNAP and Medicaid is the focus of SLW 2025.
“The wealthiest nation on earth can afford to feed its own people. But right now, it seems the wealthiest nation on earth is more content to prioritize millionaires and billionaires,” said Amelia Kegan FCNL’s associate general secretary for policy and advocacy. “Taking away health care and food assistance won’t reduce our deficits, especially when it’s going towards extending tax cuts that would give the richest 0.1% an additional $314,000 a year.”
Medicaid provides health coverage for more than 70 million people in the United States, including two out of every five births and three out of five people in nursing care facilities. Twenty million people are at risk of losing their health coverage if Congress eliminates Medicaid expansion.
Conversely, if Congress slightly reduces the amount given to states for Medicaid expansion, many states will see their Medicaid expansion automatically end. In addition, SNAP helps more than 40 million people put food on the table and are at risk of seeing their benefits reduced or eliminated from proposed cuts.
To learn more, please visit www.fcnl.org.
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