Issue Brief: What Proposed Federal Budget Cuts and Policy Changes Will Cost Children

Abstract

Budgets are moral documents, reflecting our priorities as a nation by deciding where to allocate resources. Congress is targeting cuts and policy changes that limit access to health care, nutrition programs, and basic financial stability for millions of children, including Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The proposed Medicaid cuts would undoubtedly strip coverage, benefits, services, and access to care from low-income children, who are more susceptible to preventable illnesses and untreated chronic conditions. Reductions to TANF threaten the ability of struggling families to afford rent or child care. And SNAP cuts will exacerbate food insecurity, leaving children hungry in classrooms where they're supposed to be learning. This brief will dissect these harmful proposals, explain how they disproportionately harm children, and make the case for a budget that values the nation's youngest citizens.