Zayn Malik, Sheryl Crow, Scarlett Johansson and many other stars are asking Congress for just “One Thing”: Don’t cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Medicaid in the federal budget bill, which the Senate is expected to vote on as soon as this week.
Celebrities from various fields joined non-profit group Feeding America — which runs a network of food banks to help those in need access healthy food with the goal of ending food insecurity — to sign an open letter urging politicians to reject the cuts to SNAP and Medicaid that are currently included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” According to CBS News, the new work requirements in the House Republicans’ bill would mean that an estimated 16 million people may become uninsured by 2034.
The bill had also proposed shifting some costs of food stamps from the federal government to the states, but according to the Associated Press, the Senate parliamentarian said that such a move would violate the chamber’s rules; these rulings are not often ignored. NPR reports that the bill would also cut more than $290 million from SNAP. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that should the bill pass, the poorest families would see a decrease in resources by about $1,600 a year, while the richest would gain about $12,000.
“Food is a beautiful way humans show care, compassion and love to those around us. It’s a fundamental part of the human experience and a basic right we all deserve,” the open letter from Feeding America and endorsed by celebrities notes, adding that millions of Americans rely on SNAP and Medicaid to help make ends meet. “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.”
“This is unacceptable and wrong. It is not how people in this country treat each other when facing hard times,” the letter continues.
In addition to the former One Direction member, “All I Wanna Do” singer and Oscar-nominated actress, stars of stage, screen and music including Alan Cumming, Matt Damon, Michelle Williams, David Arquette, Chrishell Stause, Paul Scheer and Danai Gurira signed the open letter to Congress.
Read the letter in full below:
Dear Members of Congress,
We all have powerful memories of sharing meals with friends, with family and even with strangers in moments of celebration, grief or everything in between. Food is a beautiful way humans show care, compassion and love to those around us. 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.
Millions of people in this country, including an estimated 15.5 million children and 7.2 million seniors, rely on programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid to make ends meet. 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.
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.
