More than two dozen members of the entertainment industry issued an open letter to members of Congress on Wednesday urging them to reject sweeping cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid in the GOP’s “big, beautiful” spending bill.
The open letter, released by Feeding America, was signed by 31 people, including high-profile Hollywood stars like Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Michelle Williams, Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth, Sheryl Crow, Live Schreiber and others.
The letter notes that millions of people rely on SNAP and Medicaid “to make ends meet,” adding, “These programs make it possible for them to live more healthily and with dignity, in turn helping communities across America to thrive.”
“Congress is now considering a bill that would make some of the largest cuts to SNAP and Medicaid in U.S. history — taking 9.5 billions of meals a year through SNAP off the table and pushing hundreds of thousands of people off Medicaid and into food insecurity,” the letter reads.
“This is unacceptable and wrong. it is not how people in this country treat each other when facing hard times,” the letter continued. “We call on Congress to reject cuts to these vital programs that help millions put food on their tables and provide access to health care.”
The final version of President Trump’s agenda-setting bill is not set in stone, as the Senate is currently considering its own version of the House-passed tax and spending megabill and is slated to make significant changes. The lower chamber will then need to vote to adopt the updated blueprint.
Both Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) have voiced optimism they will be able to get the legislation to Trump’s desk by a self-imposed July 4 deadline.
The House-passed bill would tighten eligibility requirements for SNAP and require states to cover a portion of benefit costs, which Democrats have argued could lead to states cutting benefits on their own.
The initial bill also included major Medicaid reforms estimated to lead to millions of people losing coverage by 2034. Among a host of changes, the bill would require states to impose stricter work requirements to be eligible for the program and would shorten the open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act.
The Senate parliamentarian in recent days has also struck down various provisions in the upper chamber’s draft legislation, including the SNAP cost-sharing proposal.