It’s wrong to hurt people who are struggling to help people who are already doing well. But Congress will begin voting soon on budget and tax legislation that would do exactly that.

Congressional leaders are seeking to renew the 2017 federal tax cut law, which provided tax breaks that overwhelmingly benefited wealthy households and highly profitable corporations. To offset the cost of these tax giveaways, Congress would have to slash funding in other areas. And many of those proposed service cuts would make life worse for Alabamians who struggle to make ends meet.

The damage could be severe for hundreds of thousands of people across our state. As many as 1 in 5 Alabamians enrolled in Medicaid could lose their health coverage due to cuts and onerous work reporting requirements. Many more people could see their food assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reduced or eliminated.

These shortsighted cuts would increase human suffering and cause economic harm across Alabama. The time to speak out against these proposals is now. Here are three ways you can help:

(1) For everyone: Contact your members of Congress and urge them to reject harmful cuts to SNAP. (This link takes you to a page created by our partners at the Food Research and Action Center.)

(2) For individuals: Add your name to Arise’s sign-on letter opposing cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

(3) For organizations: Add your group’s name to Arise’s sign-on letter opposing cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. Please use this form only if you are authorized to sign on behalf of your organization.

Alabama Arise will continue to advocate in the coming weeks and months against harmful service cuts for working people and tax giveaways to wealthy households. Thank you for your support of our work to build an economy that works for everyone in our state.