Media Contact:
Jordan Baker
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Colleen Barton
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Statement attributable to Crystal FitzSimons, Interim President,
Food Research & Action Center
WASHINGTON, April 18, 2025 — The leaked proposal to slash $40 billion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget poses a devastating threat to millions of individuals and families in low-income households across the country. The proposed budget would eliminate funding for Head Start and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), while threatening funding for health care and other basic needs services. Reading through the proposal is nothing short of shock and awe, knowing that the cuts would have far-reaching and long-lasting impacts on millions of people and communities nationwide.
Head Start provides early childhood education, nutrition through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and family support services that give children a strong start in life and help set them up for success in school. Head Start is particularly important in rural areas where such services, including access to nutritious meals and snacks through CACFP, are limited. These communities would also see cuts to rural health initiatives.
The proposal to eliminate funding for LIHEAP would place the health and safety of working families, older adults, children, and individuals with disabilities at risk.
LIHEAP helps families keep the heat on in the winter and the air conditioning running in the summer. For many older adults, LIHEAP makes it possible to continue living independently in their own homes. LIHEAP also plays an important role during disasters, such as during Florida’s winter storm last January, helping people meet a wide range of urgent household needs, including utilities and temporary shelter.
Food, housing, and health care aren’t luxuries — they are necessities. Yet, these proposed cuts signal a disturbing approach, leaving behind those most in need. This budget proposal comes on the heels of HHS eliminating the office that set the federal poverty level, which determined eligibility for benefits for tens of millions of people.
These reductions do not just affect individual lives — they ripple through entire communities, deepening poverty, worsening health outcomes, and limiting opportunities for upward mobility. It is imperative that we prioritize investments in nutrition assistance and human services, and uphold our shared value of opportunity for all.
We urge Congress to reject these irresponsible and callous proposed cuts, and protect these critical programs that have proven to create a healthier and stronger America.
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The Food Research & Action Center improves the nutrition, health, and well-being of people struggling against poverty-related hunger in the United States through advocacy, partnerships, and by advancing bold and equitable policy solutions. To learn more, visit FRAC.org and follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky.
