Washington, DC – The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) is alarmed by House budget reconciliation proposals advancing in committees that would significantly cut Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), critical clean energy investments, and restrict access to the Child Tax Credit.
Contact: media@fcnl.org
This week, the House Agriculture, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce committees released draft legislation that would drastically raise costs for families already struggling to eat and afford medical care. Proposals are included that would enable any administration to strip nonprofits of their status without due process on ideological grounds. These cuts would take health care and food assistance away from families struggling to make ends meet.
“As Quakers, we are called to speak truth and to care for our neighbors. The budget reconciliation proposals are immoral, robbing poor people to give to the rich,” said Bridget Moix, FCNL general secretary. “The proposals put nonprofits everywhere under threat. They would significantly raise electricity costs for families and houses of worship around the nation. We call on our legislators to have the moral courage to reject these harmful proposals.”
Medicaid provides health coverage to more than 70 million people, including two in five births in the United States. SNAP helps over 40 million individuals at risk of hunger. The Child Tax Credit is one of the most pro-family, anti-poverty policies we have.
The expansion of clean energy tax credits in 2022 created more than 400,000 jobs nationwide. These credits also made it possible for nonprofit houses of worship to benefit from clean energy rebates for the first time, thanks to a new policy called “direct pay.”
“Members of Congress must stand in solidarity with working families and communities everywhere and reject unconscionable cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and clean energy investments,” said Moix. “Under no circumstances should this proposed legislation become law.”
FCNL asks legislators to ask themselves the same question that the prophet Micah asked, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8) It is in this spirit that FCNL urges Congress reject this blatantly immoral, directly harmful, and dangerously divisive budget reconciliation package that harms all of God’s children and creation.
To learn more, please visit www.fcnl.org.
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