Budget cuts under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives would gut essential services for low-income people and have a devastating impact on tens of thousands of Arkansas children and families. In addition, the proposals could significantly impact our state budget, with costs shifting from the federal government to Arkansas to maintain our nutrition, health, and other programs.

The proposed cuts to Medicaid and SNAP — the largest in the programs’ histories — would increase hardship and deepen the effects of poverty at a time when many Arkansas families already struggle to put food on the table and afford health insurance, child care, and housing.

“We all support real improvements that make basic needs programs work better, but that’s not what’s happening here,” said Keesa Smith-Brantley, Executive Director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

Smith-Brantley said she hopes that the Senate will amend the House’s proposed cuts, and that Arkansas’s Sen. John Boozman, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, will take a lead role in that. In fact, Sen. Boozman’s statement last night indicated his intent to amend the House provisions.

“We look forward to working with him to ensure that the Senate does not continue pushing this reckless, harmful agenda that would take health coverage and food assistance away from millions of people — to partly pay for trillions in tax cuts,” Smith-Brantley said. “Budget proposals that substantially weaken programs that aid low-income people have even more devastating impacts in Arkansas, because we have one of the nation’s highest rates of child poverty. Arkansas families deserve better.”

The budget bills passed by the House Energy and Commerce, Agriculture, and Ways and Means committees include:

• At least $625 billion in cuts to Medicaid through work requirements for people who receive coverage through the Medicaid expansion, various other red tape requirements that will reduce coverage, and restrictions on how Arkansas raises money to pay for Medicaid, among other changes. 
• Roughly $300 billion in cuts to SNAP through harsh work requirements for parents of school-aged children and older adults, as well as a requirement that states, for the first time in the 50-year history of the program, pay for a share of food benefits. 
• A tax plan that would increase deficits by $3.8 trillion over 10 years, providing an average tax cut of $65,000 for people with incomes in the top 1%, while doing little for low- and moderate- income families. 

Medicaid helps children develop into healthy adults and helps adults stay healthy. About 800,000 Arkansans receive health care coverage through Medicaid. The program pays for 41% of births in Arkansas. And it’s the nation’s largest payer both of behavioral health services, which include mental health and substance use disorder treatment, and long-term care services, either at home or in nursing facilities. 

Coverage losses, benefit cuts, and reduced provider reimbursement rates mean that parents will not be able to afford life-saving medications and older adults won’t be able to pay for treatment to manage chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease. 

“All the things that our state is working on — bringing down maternal mortality rates, making sure older Arkansans can afford their prescriptions, getting more people into substance use disorder treatment — that’s all at stake,” Smith-Brantley said.

These challenges to Arkansans’ health will be compounded by the cuts to SNAP. With grocery prices up year-over-year — and forecasted to rise further — 240,000 people could see their food assistance benefits cut or taken away entirely under the congressional proposal to expand work requirements to older adults and parents of school-aged kids. Taking away benefits from parents will harm children, too. Kids won’t get enough to eat, and their health and school performance will suffer.

The House plan also imposes steep new costs on states. Under the proposal, Arkansas would have to pay about 10% of the cost of the SNAP program, or about $55 million.  With our state budget stretched thin, Arkansas lawmakers would be forced to choose between taking away benefits, reducing eligibility, raising taxes, or cutting funding for other state programs. 

Arkansas could even choose to end SNAP entirely if state leaders decide the new funding mandate is impossible to meet and opts out of the program. That would mean hundreds of thousands of Arkansans would have their food benefits taken away, including working people with low-paying jobs, people with serious health conditions and disabilities, veterans, and others would face severe hunger and health consequences under this worst-case scenario.  

The House budget plan would make roughly $1.5 trillion in cuts to basic needs programs to pay for tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthy. But even with the dismantling of federal funding for food assistance and health care, the current plan would still increase deficits by $3.8 trillion over 10 years. 

Low-wage, working families in Arkansas would see next to nothing from the tax cut provisions. 

• While the bill temporarily expands the maximum Child Tax Credit to $2,500, more than 200,0000 Arkansas children won’t get the full credit because their families’ incomes are too low. 
• In addition, millions of people will see tax increases if tariffs are enacted. The tariffs would likely erase a large portion of forthcoming tax cuts for low-income households — those making less than roughly $13,840.
• The bill also fails to extend premium tax credit enhancements for health insurance, which make premiums for coverage through the ACA marketplaces more affordable.

Research shows that cuts at the federal level will be felt far beyond the households who see their benefits taken away:

• Medicaid is an important source of revenue for hospitals in rural areas because it reduces uncompensated care rates.
• SNAP has an economic multiplier effect, generating $1.54 in economic activity for every $1 spent in a weak economy. The 2,700 local grocery chains and convenience stores that rely on SNAP purchases to pay their employees and keep prices affordable might struggle to stay open. 
• Thirty percent of small business owners in Arkansas count on food assistance through SNAP or health care coverage through Medicaid. Without help affording groceries and health care, many entrepreneurs could be forced to close up shop.

State governments rely on federal support, and Arkansas receives more than $11 billion annually in federal funding. Federal dollars help fund infrastructure investments, basic needs programs, public education, and other projects that provide jobs and keep money flowing through our communities. The cuts outlined in the House budget bill — combined with the potential impact of tariffs, federal layoffs, canceled grants, and slowing revenue growth — could push Arkansas toward a funding collapse.