The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Budget circulated a memo among House Republicans outlining a “menu of options” detailing up to $5 trillion in cuts to federal programs that could be enacted through a reconciliation bill. Reconciliation is a legislative process that speeds up the timeline for enacting bills by limiting debate time and skirting the Senate’s filibuster rule, allowing bills to pass the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes, rather than the 60 votes required under the filibuster. With Republicans holding control of the House, Senate, and White House, using reconciliation will allow Republicans to pass bills without bipartisan support.
The list includes proposals to cut funding from food and healthcare assistance programs and to impose unnecessary barriers to accessing assistance in an effort to lower costs by serving fewer people. While the specifics of these proposals – and what, ultimately, the reconciliation package will include – are yet to be decided, programs like Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”) marketplace, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as “food stamps”), and Social Security are named as potential targets for cuts and policy changes.
While housing assistance is not named as a potential target for cuts in reconciliation, the anti-poverty programs mentioned above play a crucial role in economic stability for people and families with low incomes, helping them put food on the table and receive needed medical care. The financial assistance these programs provide also promotes housing stability: by helping families afford the cost of food and other necessities, more money is left over at the end of the month to ensure that rent is paid, too. NLIHC will continue working with our partners to monitor and oppose any reconciliation proposal that would cut funding to these vital anti-poverty programs.