Officially named the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, H.R. 1 is indeed a big bill, at over 1,000 pages long. The bill combines permanent extensions of the 2017 tax cuts with steep spending reductions in key safety-net programs like Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), LIHEAP (energy assistance), student aid, and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
Find the full text of the bill here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1
H.R.1 narrowly passed the U.S. House on May 22, 2025, and, as of this writing, is under consideration by the Senate. You can check out the Associated Press’ analysis of the bill here: https://apnews.com/article/trump-big-bill-tax-cuts-medicaid-green-energy-senate-44588dc9301bd5bcdf04f9b00c7101cf
While all aspects of the bill are important, several provisions are particularly concerning for us here at Crisis Assistance Ministry. Every day, we serve hardworking people who struggle to meet their basic needs, and this bill would shift trillions of dollars in benefits away from them and people like them in three critical areas.
New Barriers to Food Security
- Over 11 million people may lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), often referred to as food stamps.
- Check out this heartfelt first-person perspective: https://www.chn.org/voices/starving-the-poor-to-feed-the-rich/
Disruption in Health Care Coverage for Our Most Vulnerable Neighbors
- Frequent redeterminations, stricter work reporting, and new verification systems risk cutting off Medicaid coverage, even for qualified individuals – children, seniors, and people with disabilities.
- Here’s a quick explainer video: What Is Medicaid?
- And here’s an issue brief from The Commonwealth Fund: How National Medicaid Work Requirements Would Lead to Large-Scale Job Losses, Harm State Economies, and Strain Budgets
Loss of Life-Saving Warming & Cooling Assistance
- The bill eliminates the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) contingency funding (about $390 M nationally)
- And it slashes the Weatherization Assistance Program entirely ( about $210 M)
It should go without saying that every human deserves the dignity of having enough food to eat, access to health care, and a home with basic utilities that protect them from life-threatening extremes of hot and cold weather. A recent survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows broad support for continued Medicaid, SNAP, and other funding that impacts low-wage earners.
For the past fifty years, Crisis Assistance Ministry has been the trusted place where Charlotte-Mecklenburg families turn in their time of need— a place where the community comes together to provide support, and to accept it, when needed.
Our mission is to provide assistance and advocacy for people in financial crisis, helping them move toward self-sufficiency. Crisis Assistance Ministry stands in the breach for many of the most vulnerable in our community, and we will continue to speak up for those who too often do not have a voice that is heard.
H.R. 1 places a multi-front attack on the foundation of the safety-net services that so many families in our community and across the country rely on for their very existence — food and housing security, healthcare access, and financial stability. Until our society is one in which everyone can access on-ramps to economic security, we will continue to resist the elimination of these critical benefits that support our hardworking neighbors.