From DC: President’s Budget Proposes Deep Cuts to Critical Programs, House to Markup Budget Bills with Medicaid and SNAP Cuts, and more

May 9, 2025

From DC is Justice in Aging’s weekly roundup of national news and resources about issues impacting older adults. To receive From DC in your inbox as soon as its published, sign up for our mailing list.

Here’s what we’re watching in Washington:

President’s Budget Proposes Deep Cuts to Critical Programs Serving Older Adults

Last week, President Trump released a budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2026 that proposes deep cuts for essential services that allow older adults and people with disabilities to remain safely at home and in their communities.

Overall, the budget guts and eliminates programs that serve the well-being of people by $163 billion, a historic amount, and effectively reduces funding for Social Security by not keeping up with increased costs. Read more in our full statement.

Meanwhile, this week, the Administration finally released FY25 funding for aging and disability services which had been appropriated by Congress – funding that was long overdue. For FY26, programs that help older adults age in their communities are on the chopping block.

We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to keep advocates informed about how and when to take action.

House Planning to Markup Budget Bills with Medicaid and SNAP Cuts Next Week

Republicans in Congress continued closed-door meetings this week to discuss policies to enact the massive tax and spending cuts outlined in their budget resolution. Reports from those meetings indicate they have yet to reach full agreement on either the types or levels of cuts to Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and other programs older adults rely on to meet their basic needs.

Despite the ongoing disagreements within the Republican caucus, the House Energy & Commerce Committee announced it will hold its hearing to markup the budget legislation on Medicaid next Tuesday, May 13 at 2PM ET. Full text of the bill will likely not be released until the minimum of 24 hours before the hearing.

Justice in Aging will be submitting a statement to the committee for the hearing and sharing updates with our network. However, regardless of what Medicaid cuts are in the bill, the outcome is the same: they will all take away health and long-term care from older adults and people with disabilities.

Now is the time to call your members of Congress and remind them: no cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, or any other basic needs programs are acceptable! Amplify the voices of thousands of Medicaid advocates from the Protect Medicaid Vigil this week to make sure every lawmaker hears from their constituents.

CBO Report Confirms Cutting Medicaid Spending Means Cutting Health Care

This week, Democratic leadership released a report from the Congressional Budget Office that demonstrates why the various Medicaid proposals Republicans are considering are in fact cuts to health care, as our Justice in Aging fact sheet explains.

Whether it’s adding work requirements, reducing the amount of funding states get for Medicaid enrollees or for the expansion population, eliminating states’ ability to use provider taxes to fund Medicaid, or repealing regulations that reduce barriers for older adults and people with disabilities to enroll in and maintain Medicaid coverage, the “savings” to the federal government from any of these proposals are entirely attributable to kicking people off coverage.

The report also explains how cuts to enrollment in the Medicare Savings Programs will also cut Medicare spending because fewer older adults will be able to afford to get medical care.

Bill to Restore HUD Fair Housing Rule Introduced in Congress

Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) recently introduced a bill to restore the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s 2021 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Interim Final Rule (2021 AFFH IFR). This rule was rescinded earlier this year by the Trump Administration. The bill, titled the “Restoring Fair Housing Protections Eliminated by Trump Act of 2025,” is endorsed by Justice in Aging.

The federal Fair Housing Act includes a statutory mandate for HUD and its grantees to play an active role in ending housing discrimination and segregation. HUD’s 2021 AFFH IFR encouraged HUD grantees to conduct voluntary fair housing planning to address disparities in housing access and equal opportunity.

Read Justice in Aging’s comments on HUD’s termination of the 2021 AFFH IFR, and learn more about the bill aiming to reinstate the rule.

Congress Seeking to Eliminate Immigrant Access to Health Care and Other Benefits

Among the harmful proposals under consideration for the budget reconciliation bill are cuts to basic needs programs targeted to immigrants. A new Protecting Immigrant Families Fact Sheet provides an overview of the proposals to restrict immigrants’ access to health insurance, including by withholding Medicaid funding from states that cover immigrants using their own state funds and making it harder to enroll in Medicaid.

Proposals also include cuts to other benefits, such as food assistance. These restrictions would harm older adults, both immigrants and citizens alike, as well as their families.

Learn more in our fact sheets on Threats to Older Immigrants in Health Care, Economic Security, Housing, and Elder Rights and Understanding Critical Connections Between Immigration and Older Adults.