Right now the leadership in the House of Representatives is attempting to make it harder for people to access our nation’s most essential programs like SNAP and Medicaid.
As soon as Wednesday, the House could take a vote on a bill that would make deep cuts to these programs and enact unnecessary and harsh work requirements creating additional barriers for Nebraskans facing hardship to receive support from programs like SNAP, Medicaid, TANF and more.
Specifically, this bill, introduced by Speaker of the House, Rep. Kevin McCarthy would:
- Cut up to $3.6 trillion over the next ten years by capping funding for our most essential programs
- Make 10 million people nation-wide at risk of losing Medicaid coverage because they don’t meet a work-reporting requirement
- Impose additional work requirements on SNAP participants and take food off the table for Nebraskans
- Restrict the reach of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program
We need to send a clear message to our elected officials in Congress that Nebraskans would be harmed by these cuts and work requirements. We know that the majority of people participating in SNAP and Medicaid are already working in jobs that Nebraskans rely on every day, such as food service, construction, and office and administrative support. Those who are not working are temporarily between jobs or are facing barriers that mean work may be extremely difficult or impossible. We know that these additional and burdensome work requirements do nothing to address these barriers and instead they will hurt working Nebraskans and those who are exempt due to disabilities and other serious health conditions. Work requirements will cause individuals to lose health care and access to food.
Instead, Congress has the opportunity this year to focus on protecting and strengthening essential programs. This year, Congress has an important opportunity to strengthen and protect SNAP through reauthorization of the Farm Bill. This happens every 5 years and updates related to agriculture, food and nutrition are also included. As this legislation moves forward, federal policy makers must protect SNAP so it can continue to keep food on the table for millions of Americans.
You can take action now by letting your Representative know you are opposed to these attempts to make it harder for Nebraskans to keep food on their tables and access the health care they need. Now is not the time to cut food assistance and access to healthcare.
Call your Representative now:
Congressman Mike Flood 202-225-4806
Congressman Don Bacon 202-225-4155
Congressman Adrian Smith 202-225-6435