Published February 7, 2025

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) announced this week that the upper chamber is ready to take up its reconciliation bill if the House is unable to advance its reconciliation bill. The Senate is proposing a two-step process: a smaller “skinny” package addressing border security, defense, and energy policy, followed by a larger tax bill later in the year. While House Speaker Johnson (R-LA) has yet to announce a top-line figure for reconciliation, reports suggest potential cuts for the Senate Agriculture Committee, somewhere in the range of $50 billion to $150 billion. They are putting this plan together now and may have something in the next few weeks. It is critical that we reach out now to push back against all cuts to SNAP.  

In addition to cutting benefits that help both families and local economies, they also seek to make SNAP more complex, which leads to higher costs for the government and more burdens for both participants and agency staff. Suffice to say, all of these cuts would end up taking food off the table for families. Here are three things to do to protect SNAP: 

Weigh in with your Member of Congress 

  1. Dial 202-224-3121. 
  2. If you do not know the name of your Congress Member, say, “I’m not sure.” 
  3. Say, “Representative.” 
  4. Say your zip code. 
  5. Confirm the Representative. 
  6. When connected with the office, you can leave a message with the staffer who answers or ask to be connected to the staffer who works on SNAP.  
  7. Sample script: “Hi, my name is [your name], and I am a constituent. I would like the Representative to know that I am concerned and troubled about the proposed cuts to SNAP. Grocery prices and hunger are increasing in the country. Cutting the program that helps over 42 million people put food on the table is unacceptable. I want my Representative to speak out and vote against any cuts to SNAP.” 

 

“Show Your Love for SNAP” Week of Action, February 10–14. Get vocal on social to show Congress your love for SNAP and urge them to protect this proven program from any budget cuts. Use the graphics and sample posts below.  Use FRAC’s toolkit to spread the word. 

Congress is in recess February 14–21. That means your Member of Congress will be in your area. You will not have to go to Washington, D.C., to meet them. Now is the time to find out where their town halls will be. 

  1. Dial 202-224-3121. 
  2. If you do not know the name of your Member of Congress, say, “I’m not sure.” 
  3. Say, “Representative.” 
  4. Say your zip code. 
  5. Confirm the Representative. 
  6. Call their office and ask the staffer where the town halls will be when the Representative returns to the district. They may forward you to the scheduler.  
  7. During the town hall, say something along the lines of, “Hi, my name is [your name], and I am a constituent. I would like you to know that I am concerned and troubled about the proposed cuts to SNAP. Grocery prices and hunger are increasing in the country. Cutting the program that helps over 42 million people put food on the table is unacceptable. What are you doing to protect SNAP and to oppose cuts to this important program?”