1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing today to urge you to protect Medicaid and SNAP, oppose any cuts to these vital programs, and vote NO on the budget currently before Congress. PROTECT MEDICAID - Quick Facts As you likely know: - About 1 in 4 Americans are enrolled in Medicaid. - Over 40% of all births in the U.S. are covered by Medicaid. - Medicaid covers a hefty 63% of nursing home residents, providing essential support to seniors who can no longer live independently. - While about 40% of enrollees are children, most Medicaid spending goes to care for the most vulnerable Americans, including seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income families. Make no mistake, despite the attempts of some of your colleagues to obfuscate the issue, the budget bill before Congress makes crippling cuts to Medicaid—people will lose their healthcare, and those people will suffer, and many of them will die as a result. PROTECT SNAP - The budget bill requires $290 billion in cuts to SNAP, slashing essential food assistance for poor and working-class Americans. - With the rising cost of groceries, even current levels of SNAP funding are meager: about $6 per family member per day. Cutting benefits further would cause real harm to working families who rely on SNAP to get by. - “Work requirements” are a smokescreen. Research has shown that SNAP work requirements don’t increase employment—rather, they have a chilling effect on program participation and discourage people who need the assistance from applying. In reality, the majority of people who rely on public benefits already work, have disabilities, or serve as full-time caregivers. We cannot allow basic needs like food to become a political battleground. Cutting SNAP, enacting new work requirements, or pushing costs off on the states would put millions at greater risk of hunger.  As of February 2025, the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services reported nearly 1.5 million SNAP recipients in Ohio, accounting for more than $258 million in regular funding allotments to the recipients. The current budget bill’s cuts to SNAP would hurt already-struggling Ohioans, cripple already-strained food banks in the state, hurt retailers, and ultimately diminish the state’s economy. Your constituents, as well as millions of others across America, are counting on you. Vote NO on this budget and protect Medicare and SNAP.