In an Act of Unimaginable Cruelty, Congress Passes Mega Bill to Strip Food Access and Healthcare from Millions of Americans

Today, Congress passed legislation that will take basic needs – including food and affordable healthcare—from millions of Americans.  

People will go hungry because of this bill. In every corner of the country, including right here in Massachusetts, people will get sicker. Hospitals and food retailers will close.  This bill strips food assistance from families already struggling to make ends meet. It threatens the health and well-being of millions of Americans—including children, seniors, and people living with disabilities. 

This is the single largest roll back of programs meant not just to alleviate, but also prevent, hunger in U.S. history. Millions will suffer -- and the damage will be deep and lasting.  

Budgets are moral documents. How we collectively choose to spend tax dollars reflects our values. Politics and policy are opportunities to collectively and systemically take care of our communities. This bill is immoral and a betrayal of our values.  

Hunger is a political problem. When our nation has faced crises or economic downturns in the past, our government has risen to the occasion: Food stamps were first created during the Great Depression. In his second inaugural address, delivered during the depths of the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation’s struggle with hunger: 

"I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished. 

It is not in despair that I paint you that picture. I paint it for you in hope--because the Nation, seeing and understanding the injustice in it, proposes to paint it out. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

Coming out of World War II, Congress created the National School Lunch Program. President Truman, upon signing the National School Act, said, “In the long view, no nation is any healthier than its children.”  

 In recognition of deep poverty and hunger in America, Presidents Kennedy and Johnson created a set of Great Society programs including the modern food stamp program which evolved into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). President Johnson called food stamps “one of many sensible and needed steps we have taken to apply the power of America's new abundance to the task of building a better life for every American.” 

 During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government boosted SNAP benefits, expanded the Child Tax Credit, and funded universal free meals. The results: food insecurity sharply decreased. Rates of food insecurity were lowest when 3-4 federal assistance programs were simultaneously active, dropping the rate of food insecurity from 19.6% to 10.7% --proving federal assistance is a key part of solving hunger.

But there have also been moments where our government has let us down. The problem isn’t food supply – it's inconsistent commitment of our elected leaders to guarantee access to all. Congress’s passage of this spending bill today will be remembered as our lowest point in the fight against hunger in America. This is the largest cut to federal nutrition programs in our nation’s history.  

This bill: 

• Will make it harder – almost impossible – for seniors, people with disabilities, parents, and veterans to complete burdensome paperwork to prove their eligible, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people in Massachusetts alone losing access to food assistance they are indeed eligible for.  

• Will make refugees and legally present immigrants trying to get on their feet ineligible for SNAP -- including 25,000 people in Massachusetts. 

• It will prevent increases in SNAP benefits, regardless of economic conditions in the future. 

• It will shift program costs to states—forcing impossible choices of which programs to fund, further eroding basic needs programs in Massachusetts. 

And this is just the beginning.  

The ripple effects will be felt across our entire economy. The people who will most need help in accessing food, - including kids, —will find it much harder to receive support. Millions will suffer—and the damage will be deep and lasting. 

While this is the unfortunate reality we find ourselves in, make no mistake: Project Bread and our partners across the country remain committed to permanently solving hunger. 

As we look ahead, we are clear-eyed about what the future holds and what it demands of us. In the face of this cruelty, Project Bread is not backing down. We are doubling down. Together, we can, and we will, achieve our vision of a Massachusetts where no one has to worry about the most basic of human needs: food.  

We know this to be true because it was our collective advocacy that created the political will for School Meals for All in Massachusetts and eight other states. This same spirit led stakeholders from across the country to gather in D.C. for the second-ever White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health just a few years ago. And this is the same energy behind the Make Hunger History Coalition in Massachusetts.  

We remain confident in the vision of a Massachusetts where everyone has enough to eat because of you -- our supporters and partners.  While we have been fighting harmful cuts in Congress, over 800 advocates like yourself took action more than 2,900 times, emailing and calling your representatives. Together with our partners, advocates helped drive more than 6,000 calls to voters in other states, patching them through to their lawmakers to demand action. Although the outcome wasn’t what we hoped for, your voices sent a powerful message: all eyes are watching, and we are not backing down.   

In the coming months and years ahead, we will build on these efforts to ensure a strong response by our state officials in Massachusetts and continue to build the political will in Washington D.C.  

The day will come when we’ll have an opportunity to reverse these cuts and make positive changes to our federal nutrition programs. We will be ready. 

We will remain where we’ve always been—in our communities. This summer, we’ll be in schools and neighborhoods, making sure every child in Massachusetts can get the food they need to grow and thrive. Day –after day, we’ll continue partnering with health centers and hospitals to help patients access food and nutrition supports.  

We will continue to be a resource for those in need. Despite the devastating cuts, SNAP will continue to be a powerful tool for those who are eligible.  Project Bread remains committed to helping families navigate through the process to access benefits that are still available, and to ensure that no opportunity is missed. When SNAP is not an option, or not enough, our FoodSource Hotline also connects families to additional resources in their community.  

We’re expanding outreach to reach every person in need. We’re working hand- in- hand with local partners and trusted messengers to make sure people know what help is available—and that they feel safe enough to seek it. 

We are grateful to the ongoing leadership of so many in our state including Governor Healey, U.S. Senator Markey, Minority Whip Clark, Congressman McGovern, and Congresswoman Pressley. Each of them stepped up in making statements, delivering floor speeches, and having conversations with their colleagues to loudly reject the cuts to basic needs in this bill. Our entire Congressional delegation was united in their strong opposition to the cuts. We look forward to working with each of them to maximize support for families and prepare for future policy debates.  

As Mr. Rogers reminded us, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” This tragedy unfolding may be a politically created catastrophe, but we are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with so many helpers committed to serving communities across the state while using our voices for a future where no one goes hungry.  

This is a defining moment. The harm will be real. But so is our resolve. 

We have the experience. We have the will. And with your support, we will not only respond—we will lead.