Scarlett Johansson, Zayn Malik, and Sheryl Crow have signed an open letter urging Congress not to decimate funding for food and medical assistance programs that help millions “live more healthily and with dignity.”
The letter, spearheaded by Feeding America, specifically addresses massive cuts to programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) baked into Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Act. The bill has already passed the House of Representatives, and it’s expected to be voted on in the Senate soon.
Feeding America’s letter noted that if the BBB is approved by the Senate and signed into law as is, it could take “9.5 billions of meals a year through SNAP off the table” and boot “hundreds of thousands of people off Medicaid and into food insecurity.”
The letter continues, “This is unacceptable and wrong. It is not how people in this country treat each other when facing hard times. 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 House version of the BBB, which passed in May, directly cuts $128 billion in state funding for SNAP, and could potentially trim another $92 billion through the implementation of red tape and work requirements that would knock people out of eligibility. Additionally, the nearly $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid could deprive more than 10 million Americans of health insurance and regular access to doctors.
In their letter, Feeding America said that an estimated 15.5 million children and 7.2 million seniors rely on SNAP and Medicaid to “make ends meet.”
(These cuts are part of the BBB’s larger efforts to cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks, primarily for the wealthy, while more money is pumped to things like the military-industrial complex, Big Tech, immigration enforcement, and private prisons.)
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“Food is a beautiful way humans show care, compassion and love to those around us,” Feeding America said. “It’s a fundamental part of the human experience and a basic right we all deserve. Ongoing high grocery costs mean food is out of reach for so many families, and many of our neighbors simply do not have enough to eat. They don’t know where their next meal is coming from or if that meal will be enough to nourish and sustain them.”
Along with Johansson, Malik, and Crow, the letter was signed by Matt Damon, Michelle Williams, Liev Schreiber, Kristin Chenoweth, Don Johnson, David Arquette, Connie Britton, Alan Cumming, Liza Colón-Zayas, Rosario Dawson, and Minka Kelly.
