As the U.S. House of Representatives debates President Donald Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill Act," a coalition of faith-based groups in Florida are making a last-minute plea to the state's Republican-dominated congressional delegation to vote against it.
During a virtual press conference on Tuesday, they spoke of the "devastating impact that cuts to health care and food assistance" would have on millions of Florida families. They specifically cited Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
The proposed bill in Congress would affect Medicaid in several ways. New 80-hour-a-month work requirements are expected to reduce enrollment by millions of people, while other proposed changes also could reduce federal payments to states.
States will also pick up more of the cost for food benefits. Until now the federal government also has covered the full cost of SNAP benefits and half the administrative costs. Trump's bill would shift more of those costs to states, leaving them to either divert money from other purposes or trim back their food assistance programs.
About 5.5 million people receive Medicaid benefits in Florida; almost 3 million Floridians were enrolled in SNAP.
'Moral choices'
"Plain and simple — we cannot turn our backs on the hungry and the sick," said Kim Johnson, Florida Impact CEO Kim Johnson, whose agency's mission is to end hunger. "The proposed cuts to SNAP and Medicaid are more than policy decisions — they are moral choices that threaten the lives and well-being of our most vulnerable neighbors."
"In Florida, these cuts would mean empty pantries for working families, missed meals for children, and heartbreaking decisions for seniors forced to choose between food and medicine," she said. "Our faith calls us to care for the least among us, to lift people up — not let them fall."
READ MORE: Here's how Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill Act' could impact Medicaid for Floridians
Zelalem Adefris, CEO of Catalyst Miami, said in a statement that any cuts to the SNAP or Medicaid programs would be "devastating" to her agency's clients in South Florida.
"Our community is already struggling due to a lack of affordable healthcare, housing, and food," she said. "The proposed cuts would exacerbate all of these issues."
'Sacred responsibility'
Rabbi Jessica Jacobs, of Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, said the Jewish community has "upheld a sacred responsibility: to care for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger."
"This commitment is just as urgent now as it was in ancient times … Each and every one should be supplied with what they need. In our tradition, this is not a suggestion. It is a mitzvah — a moral obligation."
"Programs like SNAP and Medicaid are modern expressions of this call for tzedakah — not charity, but justice," she said. "They are part of the safety net that ensures that our communities are healthy and thriving.
Tim May, Senior Pastor at the United Methodist Church of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, urged his fellow faith-based leaders and Floridians to speak out and urge lawmakers to reject the bill.
"It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the brokenness of the world — to falsely believe that writing a letter, making a call, or donating a can of food won't make a difference," he said. "But when the policies of the powerful harm the most vulnerable, silence and inaction are not options for those who follow Jesus — especially when this is a moment where our voices, hands, and feet can truly make a difference."
'Compassion and mercy'
Cynthia Metzger Phipps, communications director for Christ Church United Methodist, Inc., in Fort Lauderdale, said her church runs a food pantry and a meals program, and has already witnessed a sharp rise in people in need of food.
"We are called by God to show compassion and mercy for our fellow humans, especially those who are suffering," she said. "Our society can and must do better."
"I pray our leaders will find it within their hearts to move past the partisanship that is a hallmark of our times and to vote in a way that reflects God's mercy and grace," she added.
The plea from the faith-based groups in Florida comes at a time when the U.S. House of Representatives is preparing to vote on the massive bill that numbers more than 900 pages.
House Republicans hold power
On Wednesday, House Republican leaders were busy trying to win over some final holdouts on Trump's tax and spending cuts package — determined to seize momentum from a hard-fought vote in the Senate while essentially daring members to defy their party's leader and vote against it. The Senate passed its version of the bill earlier this week.
Democrats are lined up against the bill and have described it in dire terms. They say Medicaid cuts would result in "Americans losing their lives because of their inability to access health care coverage."
Democrats, however, do not hold majority control of the House. So the bill's fate is in the hands of Republican.
Republicans argue they are trying to rightsize the safety net programs for the population they were initially designed to serve, mainly pregnant women, the disabled and children, and root out what they describe as waste, fraud and abuse.
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