Dear Senator:
On behalf of the AFL-CIO, I am writing to express our strong opposition to the Senate FY 2025 Budget Resolution (H. Con. Res. 14) scheduled for floor consideration this week. This budget proposes an even more damaging trajectory with harsher spending cuts and increased fiscal recklessness compared to the version passed by the Senate in February, masking the most severe cuts under the cover of superficial, placeholder instructions.
Using voodoo math, H. Con. Res. 14 sets the stage for $5.3 trillion or more in tax cuts that will disproportionately benefit the ultra-rich and largest corporations. However, the budget manipulation here cannot conceal the underlying neglect that threatens the health and economic security of millions of Americans. This budget plan is set to make life more difficult for millions of working individuals.
In order to fund these tax cuts for the wealthy, the resolution proposes drastic spending cuts that would impact families who depend on Medicaid for healthcare. Medicaid budget cuts would result in millions of people losing their health coverage and a loss of 888,000 jobs in 2026 alone. The cuts would threaten to shutter hospitals and community health centers. Medicaid funding also supports the salaries of school-based health professionals, such as speech pathologists, occupational therapists and school nurses. It also pays for critical services like physical therapy, mental health counseling and specialized care for students with disabilities. Without these funds, schools could lose the ability to provide essential services.
H. Con. Res. 14 would take food from families and children, the elderly, disabled and veterans. Proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would result in a cut of more than 20 percent from a program that helps more than 40 million people, including 1 in 5 children. Cuts in SNAP could make it harder for schools to operate meal programs and for families to obtain free or reduced-price school meals. Reduction in SNAP benefits would also result in fiscal hardship for the thousands of local grocery stores who rely on SNAP benefits to make their bottom line, resulting in fewer hours for workers and even fewer jobs if many of the stores ultimately close.
The budget resolution would also impose deep cuts to federal programs that support students and colleges—while also introducing tax changes that could make it more expensive for students to afford college. Shifts in tax policy called for by this resolution could also put at risk hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country in energy, manufacturing, and other sectors.
Working families must not be stuck, again, with the bill for trillions of dollars in tax giveaways for billionaires and big corporations. We urge you to vote against FY 2025 Budget Resolution (H. Con res. 14) and instead pursue a budget that supports working people and their families.
Sincerely,
Jody Calemine
Director, Government Affairs