Published May 9, 2025

On May 2, 2025, the Trump administration unveiled its fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget proposal, signaling a significant shift in federal priorities. While Congress holds the power to make spending decisions, the administration’s proposal outlines substantial cuts to programs that support Americans with low– and moderate– incomes. If implemented, these reductions threaten to exacerbate poverty, increase food insecurity, and dismantle critical tools that help individuals escape poverty.  

Cuts to critical federal programs align with the administration’s actions over the past 100 days. A series of executive orders have targeted systems that support access to education, nutrition, child care, housing, and other basic needs. These changes come amid growing concerns about a recession and tariffs that have driven up food prices, making it harder for many Americans to afford essentials and put food on the table. 

Below are a few of the proposed cuts.:  

Nutrition Assistance 

The budget proposes a $425 million cut — eliminating the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), which provides nutritious food to seniors with low incomes. Additionally, the proposal suggests replacing CSFP with the “Make America Great Again (MAHA) Food Boxes,” a program that faced criticism during its previous implementation for mismanagement and inefficiency.  

Many rural areas were left behind by the previous Trump administration’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS). A Congressional investigation by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis revealed widespread mismanagement of the program in 2020. 

The investigation found that multimillion-dollar contracts were awarded to unqualified vendors with minimal oversight. One company continued receiving payments despite evidence of false records and self-dealing. The administration failed to monitor contractor performance, set profit limits, or require documentation to prevent price gouging. 

Rather than prioritizing hunger relief, the program focused on meeting the needs of the contractors. Many nonprofits lacked the resources to store or distribute the food boxes, which often arrived in unsafe packaging or in quantities too large to manage. This led to food waste and additional costs for community organizations. 

These failures call into question the effectiveness and fairness of proposals to revive this model under the “MAHA” food box initiative. 

These cuts would lead to increased hunger and strain local communities as they attempt to fill the gap left by the administration.  

Energy Assistance 

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps over 6 million households with very low incomes pay for heating and cooling costs, faces elimination under the proposed budget. This move would result in higher utility bills for vulnerable families, increasing the risk of energy insecurity.  

Housing 

The budget proposes significant cuts to housing assistance programs, including: 

  • Reducing Tenant-Based Rental Assistance, Public Housing, Project-Based Rental Assistance, Housing for the Elderly, and Housing for Persons with Disabilities:  $26.718 billion — a 43 percent cut — would be consolidated into block grants to states, with a two-year cap on assistance for able-bodied adults. 
  • Eliminating Community Development Block Grant: a program that provides grants to over 1,200 state and local governments for a wide range of community and economic development activities.   
  • Eliminating HOME Investment Partnerships Program: a grant that provides state and local governments funding to expand the supply of housing.   
  • Eliminating Self-Sufficiency Programs:  This includes the termination of the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS), Jobs Plus, and Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) programs, which help families increase earned income, build assets, and improve financial well-being.  

These changes would lead to increased homelessness and housing instability for millions of Americans.  

Education 

The proposed education budget cuts include: 

  • Eliminating the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG): This program provides financial aid to undergraduate students with exceptional need and does not need to be repaid. 
  • Eliminating TRIO and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate (GEAR UP) Programs: These programs support first-generation and low-income students in preparing for and succeeding in college.  
  • Reducing Federal Work-Study Funding: A significant cut that would limit opportunities for students to work while attending school.  

These reductions will hinder social mobility and perpetuate cycles of poverty.  

Health 

The budget proposes a $33.3 billion cut to the Department of Health and Human Services, including: 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): a 44 percent reduction in funding, eliminating chronic disease programs and domestic HIV work.  
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): an $18 billion cut, impacting medical research and public health initiatives.  
  • Elimination of Health Equity Programs: discontinuing initiatives aimed at addressing health disparities among marginalized communities.  

These cuts would lead to worsened health outcomes and increased disparities among low-income populations. 

Workforce Development 

The budget proposes: 

  • Eliminating the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP): a program that provides job training for seniors with low-income.  
  • Cutting AmeriCorps and Job Corps: reducing funding for programs that offer work experience and community service opportunities.  

These reductions could limit job opportunities and undermine efforts to reduce poverty, even as the administration pushes to expand basic needs programs time limits and eliminate waivers. 

A Call for Congressional Action 

The president’s proposed budget outlines significant cuts to programs that are vital in the fight against poverty. These reductions threaten to increase food insecurity, housing instability, and hinder access to education and health care for millions of Americans. Congress should reject the approach in the president’s budget and establish its own budget and spending priorities that protect and strengthen proven federal programs that support low- and moderate-income individuals and families. At a time when Congress is debating historic cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), further dismantling these programs will only serve to increase demand while leaving struggling individuals, families, and local communities without essential support.