Taking food assistance away from vulnerable groups
Prior bipartisan agreements have exempted millions from burdensome paperwork requirements because the research shows, clearly, that those requirements reduce needed supports but don’t lead to any additional employment. The Senate’s text eliminates those exemptions and would threaten much-needed food assistance for millions.
Reducing food support for veterans
A bipartisan agreement in 2023 exempted veterans from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work-documentation requirements until October 1, 2030, and the House-passed One Big, Beautiful Bill Act did not threaten that agreement. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry’s proposal would end this exemption for the estimated 1.2 million veterans receiving SNAP, forcing them to begin reporting at least 20 hours of work every week to stay eligible for SNAP—or risk being kicked off their benefits for three years. Research shows that working-age veterans are more likely to live in a food-insecure household than working-age nonveterans. They may have difficulty finding employment or documenting nonmilitary employment if they have been away from home and unable to retain nonmilitary records. It is particularly punitive to ban veterans from SNAP recipiency for three years.
Reducing food support for people who are homeless
A bipartisan agreement in 2023 exempted those experiencing homelessness from SNAP paperwork requirements until October 1, 2030. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry’s proposal would end this exemption for the estimated 1 million SNAP recipients experiencing homelessness, forcing them to begin reporting at least 20 hours of work every week to stay eligible for SNAP—or risk being kicked off their benefits for three years. Research shows that paperwork requirements are the most punitive for homeless individuals, likely because of the challenges they face receiving and retaining work documentation forms. Taking away food assistance and preventing people from reaccessing benefits for which they are eligible for three years will likely exacerbate homelessness, deep poverty, and financial hardship.
Reducing food support for youth aging out of foster care
A bipartisan agreement in 2023 exempted former foster youth who are 24 years old or younger and were in foster care on their 18th birthday from SNAP paperwork requirements until October 1, 2030. Again, the House-passed One Big, Beautiful Bill Act did not threaten that agreement. However, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry’s proposal would end this exemption, forcing them to begin reporting at least 20 hours of work every week to stay eligible for SNAP, or risk being kicked off their benefits for three years. Research shows that the more than 20,000 people who age out of foster care each year face substantial barriers in the labor market, leading to only around 50 percent being employed at the age of 24.
Reducing food support for stay-at-home parents
The House-passed version of the reconciliation bill carved out a married, stay-at-home parent from food assistance paperwork requirements if their spouse met the requirements. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry subjects both parents to paperwork requirements.
Causing more people to lose health care coverage
Millions could lose health care because of the Senate’s plans.
Forcing Medicaid paperwork requirements on parents
The House-passed bill imposes paperwork requirements on adults enrolled in Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) expansion, requiring individuals ages 19 to 64 to document at least 80 hours per month of work or other qualifying activities in order to maintain their Medicaid coverage, which would consequently result in significant cuts without significant new employment. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 5.2 million Medicaid enrollees will lose coverage in 2034 due to work-reporting requirements. While the House version includes exemptions for parents with dependent children, the Senate Finance Committee’s legislative text eliminates that exemption, requiring parents of children over age 14 to document their work. This broadened scope will result in anywhere from 160,000 to 380,000 additional Medicaid enrollees losing their coverage due to red tape.
Punishing states for expanding Medicaid
The House-passed version of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act freezes how much all states can tax providers in order to generate additional funds for their state Medicaid programs at current rates, with a “safe harbor” limit of 6 percent of net patient revenues. The Senate plan phases down the safe harbor ceiling to 3.5 percent (excluding nursing homes and intermediate care facilities) for Medicaid expansion states only, making it even more difficult for 40 states to sustainably fund their Medicaid programs. This cut will lead to even more people losing Medicaid in expansion states, which will increase uncompensated care costs and threaten the financial well-being of local—particularly rural—hospitals. To offset those losses, states could be forced to cut back on coverage of optional Medicaid benefits that primarily benefit seniors and people with disabilities, including home- and community-based care, prescription drugs, and medical supplies.
More giveaways to corporate special interests
On top of extending tax breaks to the wealthiest, the Senate committee text includes giveaways to special interests that threaten the well-being of everyone else.
Selling off millions of acres of America’s public lands
The Senate bill includes an unprecedented and controversial mandate to sell off more than 2 million acres of national forests and other public lands to help fund the tax giveaways that benefit the wealthy. Falsely claiming the sell-off will address the nation’s housing affordability needs, Senate Republicans are pushing a reckless and massive sell-off, which could allow treasured public lands to be sold off for unaffordable trophy homes, vacation rentals, or golf course communities. More than 250 million acres of public lands would be eligible for sale with no required public input or consideration of recreational use, wildlife habitat, sacred lands, or other public values. After House Republican leadership was forced to remove a less-expansive sell-off proposal from their version of the bill, Senate Republicans gave the pen to Committee Chairman Mike Lee (R-UT), who notoriously questions the constitutional basis for U.S. public lands and has unabashedly fought for their widespread sell-off. On top of historic giveaways to oil and gas interests already included in the bill—in the form of widespread leasing at rock bottom prices—the Senate’s addition of this public land sell-off is positioned to enrich developers and real estate investors at the expense of the American public.
Making it easier to buy dangerous firearms and silencers
For nearly 100 years, purchasing a gun silencer has involved registration and paying a $200 tax. The House-passed reconciliation bill removes these requirements by exempting silencers from the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934. By reducing the sound and muzzle flash of gunfire, silencers make it harder for law enforcement to locate the source of active shooters and for people to recognize gunshots in order to call the police. The Senate version goes further by also removing short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and other weapons from NFA requirements. Released two days after Minnesota lawmakers were shot in their homes, the Senate bill also preempts state and local regulations of these weapons, meaning states will have no choice but to allow people—including those who to may plan to commit assassinations, robberies, and mass shootings—to easily buy concealable rifles, shotguns, and other weapons rarely seen because of current regulations. Pen guns, cigarette lighter guns, and umbrella guns belong in a spy movie—not in our communities. This extreme provision is a giveaway to the gun industry who wants to maximize profits by selling dangerous guns and accessories at the expense of public safety.
Conclusion
The House and Senate are rushing to complete a massive transfer of wealth from working-class Americans to the wealthiest—and Senate committee text indicates that nothing is off the table. Veterans, people who are homeless, and parents of young children would be newly subject to stringent requirements to document their work history, and the public lands that millions enjoy could be sold.