Grassroots Groups Back Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act as Boyle Moves to Force Floor Vote

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, filed a discharge petition to force consideration of a special rule to prevent the largest cuts to Medicaid and food assistance in American history to pay for massive tax giveaways to billionaires.

Ranking Member Boyle’s petition would discharge a special rule that includes the text of his Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act. The bill, which is strongly supported by Democratic Leader Hakeem Jefferies, was introduced by Representatives Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee; Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee; Angie Craig (MN-02), Ranking Member of the Agriculture Committee; Greg Casar (TX-35), Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; Brad Schneider (IL-10), Chair of the New Democrat Coalition; and Lou Correa (CA-46), Blue Dog Coalition Co-Chair for Policy and Legislative Strategy.

The petition is now open for signature by any Member of the House who is committed to protecting access to Medicaid and SNAP for millions of Americans. Under House rules, once a discharge petition receives 218 signatures, it triggers a vote on the House Floor.

Grassroots groups are voicing strong support for Boyle’s efforts:

“Republicans have been trying to have it both ways. They want to shred the safety net that the working class, older Americans, and people with disabilities depend on to pay for tax breaks for billionaires, while publicly claiming the opposite. This is a smoke screen, and I applaud Ranking Member Boyle for calling out this disingenuousness,” said Randi Weingarten, President, AFT. “The Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act will protect these programs from being cut through a secretive budget reconciliation process. Full stop. The legislation demands everyone in Congress to follow through on promises and commitments or let their constituents know they have not. That’s why we are asking Democrats and Republicans alike to sign onto this lifesaving bill. If Republicans truly want to help their constituents (many who receive support through Medicaid and SNAP), Republicans should sign on. We are asking all members of Congress not to hide from constituents. Sign onto this bill to support these programs.”

“Healthcare and food assistance programs are not a piggy bank for Congress. The extreme cuts to Medicaid and SNAP currently being contemplated in Congress will cruelly rip care and vital resources away from those who need it most, cost millions of people their emotional and financial wellbeing, and threaten lives,” said Nicole Jorwic, Chief of Programs at Caring Across Generations. “These cuts will cause families to struggle to do what matters most: care for ourselves and the people we love. That is why we strongly support the Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act, because cuts to Medicaid and SNAP should not be a part of budget reconciliation.”

“Congress has a choice: protect families or protect corporate profits. The budget resolution advanced by congressional Republicans, if it were signed into law, would terminate coverage for millions on Medicaid and gut critical programs like SNAP, that help families afford to put food on their table, all in service of protecting massive tax cuts for corporations,” said Mona Shah, Senior Director of Policy and Strategy, Community Catalyst.“Enacting the budget resolution, as passed in the House, would force tens of millions of people across this country into debt and make hard choices between getting the medical care they desperately need or putting food on their table or paying their rent. Everyone should understand, this Republican budget proposal will make the cost of living more expensive for the vast majority of the people in this country. We should be protecting working people, not corporations. That is why legislation like the Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act is so vital, and we are proud to endorse it.”

“People all around the country—regardless of party affiliation or ideology—are making their voices heard: Congress should not cut safety net programs that millions of people depend on in order to give a cent more to billionaires and corporations,” said Kristen Crowell, Executive Director of Fair Share America. “Rep. Boyle has been a real leader in the effort to protect funding for critical programs and his Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act is a welcome measure for protecting people of all stripes.”

“Republicans in Congress continue to abuse the reconciliation process to pass massive giveaways for their billionaire donors and big corporations at the expense of everyone else,” said Michael Linden, Director of Families Over Billionaires. “Right now, they’re planning to kick millions off health care and take food off the plates of children in need, all to pay for more tax breaks for the wealthy. Rep. Boyle’s Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act would protect these essential programs for the families who need them most, and prevent these dangerous cuts from being enacted as part of Republicans billionaire-first agenda in Congress.”

“Across the country, families are struggling to keep up with rising costs,” said Sondra Goldschein, Executive Director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy. “Instead of offering families a lifeline, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are determined to cut critical programs like Medicaid and SNAP to fund more tax breaks for billionaires. Make no mistake: Cuts to these programs will increase the cost of things like healthcare and groceries for working families. If Republicans truly want to help families, they can make that clear by supporting this bill to protect Medicaid and SNAP.”

“Throughout the Feeding America network of food banks, state associations, pantries, and faith-based partners, we know that food and health benefits provided through SNAP and Medicaid are a lifeline to millions of hard-working people across our country,” said Vince Hall, Chief Government Relations Officer, Feeding America. “With food insecurity at its highest levels since 2014—coupled with rising costs for everyday goods—food banks are struggling to keep up with the need for food assistance. Food banks simply can’t make up the gap if SNAP is cut, or if Medicaid cuts threaten household budgets.”

“The Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act would help safeguard the health and well-being of our nation,” said Crystal FitzSimons, Interim President of the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). “Cutting pivotal programs like Medicaid and SNAP at a time of soaring food and basic needs costs to fund tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations is morally indefensible and a direct attack on families and communities who rely on these programs to survive and thrive.”

“As President Trump drives the economy toward a self-induced recession and families continue to struggle with the high cost of living, Republicans in Congress want to gut the vital programs that millions of Americans rely on for health care, elder care, and food assistance, all in the service of a massive tax giveaway to their wealthy donors and large corporations. Democrats stand united against these draconian and deeply unpopular cuts and on the side of working families who are fed up with Trump and the GOP’s economy,” said Alex Jacquez, Chief of Policy and Advocacy, Groundwork Collaborative.

“America’s moms strongly support the Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act, which we urgently need to stave off Republican threats to take away our health care and slash funding for the programs we need as food prices skyrocket so we can lift our families and boost our economy,” said MomsRising Executive Director and CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. “Republicans are dead-set on extending the enormous tax breaks for billionaires and wealthy corporations. They are determined to help the rich get richer, no matter the harm to moms, families, small businesses, and the economy as a whole. Moms reject the Republican agenda. This bill would restore sanity, and economic common sense to our budgeting process.”

“Working families need lawmakers to have their back while President Trump’s reckless tariff policy is adding hundreds of dollars a month to their household bills. Clearing the way for Donald Trump and Elon Musk to gut Medicaid and SNAP while handing out tax breaks to billionaires is unacceptable,” said Joel Payne, Chief Communications Officer for MoveOn Civic Action. “Congressional Republicans have a choice to make: They can take away their constituents’ health care and critically needed benefits or they can stop bending their knee to Trump.”

“Medicaid and SNAP are essential for care workers and the families they support. Medicaid, in particular, is a core program in our care system. It determines whether families have access to quality care, whether care workers have health coverage, and whether they’re paid for the vital work they do. Nearly three in five home care workers rely on some form of public assistance, and almost half depend on Medicaid for their own health care. At a time when care jobs remain underpaid and undersupported, and as we face a deepening care crisis, we cannot afford to weaken the foundation of our care economy. The Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act is a vital step toward protecting the people who make all other work possible. We’re grateful to Ranking Member Boyle and the co-sponsors for raising the urgency of protecting care at a time when it’s needed the most,” said Ai-jen Poo, President, National Domestic Workers Alliance.

“At a time when costs are rising and tariffs threaten to plunge us into a recession, congressional Republicans should be finding ways to support families, not robbing them of health care and food assistance to give more tax breaks to billionaires,” said Amy Matsui, Senior Director of Income Security, National Women’s Law Center Action Fund. “The National Women’s Law Center Action Fund strongly supports the Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act, which would protect two vital basic needs programs that women and families rely on.”    

“The Republican budget plan is a kick in the jugular to America's working families at a time when millions are struggling to stay on their feet,” said Analilia Mejia, Co-Executive Director of Popular Democracy in Action. “The Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act is essential legislation that draws a clear line: we will not allow the most vulnerable Americans to pay the price for billionaire tax cuts. Our communities deserve better than this cynical redistribution of resources from working people to the ultra-wealthy. We will mobilize, organize, and fight back to stop Republicans from gutting the lifelines our communities depend on.”

“No matter how they might try to hide it, Americans know the truth: Republicans are stealing Americans’ SNAP and Medicaid to fund their massive tax cuts for greedy billionaires and corporations. Thankfully, we have leaders like Ranking Member Boyle fighting back,” said Joe Van Wye, Senior Legislative Strategist at P Street. “Millions of Americans need SNAP and Medicaid to get the food and healthcare they need to survive, and Ranking Member Boyle—along with the other leaders on this bill—are once again standing up to fight for these vital services. We thank them for their work, and stand ready to help them protect hardworking families and make billionaire and greedy corporations pay their fair share.”

“At a time when Congress is poised to advance partisan reconciliation legislation that could impose the largest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in our nation’s history, the Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act provides a critical safeguard,” said Stan Dorn, Director, Health Policy Project, UnidosUS. “These programs are lifelines for millions—especially in Latino and working-class communities—and it is both unjust and short-sighted to strip support from those struggling to get by in order to give more to mega-corporations and the ultra-wealthy. UnidosUS strongly supports this legislation and urges lawmakers to protect the health care and nutrition assistance that keep our communities afloat.”

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