Just Harvest Statement on Budget Resolution Passage

PITTSBURGH, PA – Yesterday, a budget resolution passed in the House by a 217 to 215 vote that will extend tax cuts skewed to the wealthiest Americans, increase the federal deficit, and threaten deep and damaging cuts to essential programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid if adopted by the Senate. 

This resolution is a preliminary step to putting these cuts into motion – so as of now, people’s benefits have not changed. However, this action advances the agenda of the Trump Administration and House Republican Leadership to do irrevocable harm to the well-being of the 41 million people living in poverty in the U.S. The Senate must take a stance now to stop this assault on American values of fairness and compassion.

If the Budget Reconciliation bill passes in the Senate, it points to an estimated $1.5 trillion–or more–in cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and education over a decade. In 2024, PA alone issued $4.27 billion in SNAP benefits, serving as an essential safety net program that keeps food on the table for 2 million Pennsylvanians (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities). This resolution instructs Congress to cut funding to programs overseen by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees by at least $230 billion–and likely entirely from SNAP. Such drastic cuts would leave these households without necessary access to needed nutrition and health care.

We are astonished by the incredible disservice committed by House Republicans who have chosen fealty to the Trump Administration over the health and nutrition of the most vulnerable members of our nation. The most fundamental and basic human needs of American families have been traded for $4.5 trillion in tax breaks most beneficial to the ultra-wealthy, and for further investment in Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

Despite objections to cuts in Medicaid and SNAP from moderate Republicans leading up to the vote, Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the only Republican to vote no in an otherwise party-line vote–although driven by an extremist view that spending cuts did not go far enough. Representative Rob Bresnahan (PA-08) initially responded to the proposed cuts by stating “If a bill is put in front of me that cuts the benefits my neighbors rely on, I will not vote for it.” However, he voted yes and dismissed it “as just a procedural vote to start negotiations.” 

People of Pittsburgh and beyond–continue speaking up. It is evident our government leaders have a skewed perception of the everyday struggle and pain these cuts will inflict on low income families, children, seniors, disabled people, veterans and other communities everywhere. Call Senators Fetterman and McCormick today to tell them you support a No vote on the budget bill. Call out the hypocrisy of “moderates” who lack the courage to vote for what they say they believe. Take action in the coming weeks and months to advocate against appropriations bills that would enact these safety net cuts.

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Contact Us:

Katherine Taylor, Communications Coordinator, katherinet@justharvest.org

Ann Sanders, Director of Public Benefits Policy and Programs, anns@justharvest.org

Date: February 26, 2025

Take Action Today!

  • Call Senators Fetterman and McCormick today to tell them you support a No vote on the budget bill.
    • We need legislators to take a stand against cuts to essential health and nutrition programs like SNAP and Medicaid!
    • Share these graphics with your network to encourage others to join you in urging Senator Fetterman and McCormick to vote NO and protect safety net programs.

     

Thank you for your continued support to Just Harvest’s mission to address the root causes of hunger. Stay tuned for more ways to protect critical safety net programs in the coming weeks.

 

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