Disabled couples are still forced to choose between love and survival due to an unjust “marriage penalty” baked into U.S. law that puts their benefits, healthcare and autonomy at risk.
Congress
The U.S. Congress is the country’s legislative body and is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Read stories here about elections to these bodies, the laws they introduce and the ways lawmakers shape peoples’ lives.
Historic Cuts to SNAP Deepen the War on Women
Republicans in the House and Senate scrambled to pass legislation that will cut $184 billion from SNAP through 2034—by far the largest cut to SNAP in the program’s history—to finance tax cuts for the wealthy big businesses. They also hope to increase funding for pursuit of immigrants.
This extremist budget will drive millions of people into poverty and hunger. It also represents a full-throated assault on women—particularly single mothers, for whom SNAP has been a lifeline.
Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Create a Disaster for Rural Mothers and Babies
Women and babies who live in areas that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump are likely to suffer some of the Big Beautiful Bill’s most sweeping and damaging effects.
The historically brutal Medicaid cuts—a staggering $930 billion slashed from the program over the next decade—could force as many as 144 rural hospitals around the U.S. to close their labor-and-delivery units or drastically scale back services.
Independence Day, Ranked-Choice Wins and Jacinda Ardern: This Week in Women’s Representation
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, sports and entertainment, judicial offices and the private sector—with a little gardening mixed in!
This week:
—This Friday marks the 249th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The journey for women’s equal representation remains unfinished.
—Zohran Mamdani looks poised to join 36-year-old Boston mayor Michelle Wu as part of a new generation of leadership in the U.S. Northeast. It’s time for more aging men like Cuomo to step aside and let more women step up. And if New York City is any indication, the voters may take matters into their own hands.
—St. Paul in 2023 elected an all-women city council in its ranked-choice voting elections. There’s now a vacant seat, and three women are among the four candidates running in an Aug. 12 special election.
—Jacinda Ardern’s new book, A Different Kind of Power, highlights the shifting dynamics of power, how women are redefining what leadership can be, and the impact of fairer election systems for creating openings for new voices like her own.
… and more!
Walmart, Kroger and Big Food Love SNAP Dollars—But Won’t Lift a Finger to Save Them
While SNAP keeps grocery giants and food manufacturers afloat, they’re nowhere to be found when it’s under threat.
No peep out of Walmart or Kroger. Nada from ConAgra, Tyson Foods or Kraft Heinz. Zilch from General Mills, PepsiCo and Nestle.
Maybe their tax breaks are worth it. Maybe they want to stay on Trump’s good side as Robert Kennedy Jr. attacks their products. Whatever the reason, their silence speaks volumes.
What, you expected corporate solidarity with consumers and workers? You have not been paying attention.
A Bill That Rips Away Food, Healthcare and Dignity From Millions—So Billionaires Can Get Richer
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and others can repeat the lie that no one will lose coverage, but it does not make it so. Seventeen million people will lose healthcare (including 11 million Medicaid beneficiaries). Millions will lose food assistance. The debt will grow by over $3 trillion.
It is hard to find anyone outside the MAGA cult who thinks this will benefit America. Republicans respond by lying about the bill even when confronted with the misery their handiwork will cause.
Republicans refuse to admit that they are hurting ordinary, hard-working Americans trying to provide for themselves and their families. To do otherwise would be a confession of their inhumanity. Instead, using well-worn authoritarian techniques (e.g., demonization, dehumanization and marginalization), MAGA politicians convince themselves that those who rely on vital benefits are unfit and undeserving. Republicans dub them “rats” or “vermin” or “murderers.”
If the bill passes the House, the pain in all 50 states will no longer be abstract. MAGA Republicans’ betrayal will hurt and, yes, kill tens of thousands of Americans. And everyone will know which party is responsible. Republicans have no plausible excuse for putting the interests of billionaires over those of ordinary people.
Governors in 12 Republican-Led States Reject Federal Funding for Summer Lunches
Twelve states, all led by Republican governors, opted out of the federal SUN Bucks program this summer, which launched in 2024 and provides $120 in grocery benefits for eligible school-aged children during the months when school is out: Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.
“I think something people don’t always recognize is that summer is the hungriest time of year for families,” said Rachel Sabella, director of the nonprofit No Kid Hungry New York. SUN Bucks in particular gives families more flexibility during the summer to access food, she added.
The Supreme Court’s Ruling on National Injunctions Will Hurt Us All—Immigrants First
In a 6-3 decision last Friday, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration a partial, but crucial, victory in its efforts to stop federal courts from blocking Trump’s agenda.
The vehicle for this power grab, CASA v. Trump, is a case about the legality of denying citizenship to children born to parents who are in the U.S. unlawfully or temporarily. In the majority’s ruling that nationwide injunctions were probably outside the federal judiciary’s authority, and therefore, judges should limit their orders to the parties and plaintiffs before them, it has tipped the balance of power to the president. And that is going to make many people’s lives—immigrants and nonimmigrants alike—much more difficult.
As Support for Abortion Grows, the Court Doubles Down on Restricting Care
In its Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic ruling last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a devastating blow to reproductive health clinics across the nation. A substantial slate of decisions issued by the Court Friday dealt several more severe blows to the rule of law and our constitutional rights—though a silver lining was the Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act’s preventive-care mandate.
Moms and Caregivers Protest Proposed Medicaid, SNAP Cuts Amidst Disapproval for Budget Reconciliation Bill Measures
A crowd of mothers, caregivers and children dressed as bees entered the Hart Senate Office building on Wednesday morning to call out Republican senators, who are rushing a budget reconciliation bill that would drastically reduce the number of people eligible for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
In addition to its Medicaid and SNAP cuts, MomsRising members in attendance on June 25 said they were concerned about the bill’s immigration provisions (it aggressively funds ICE), its impact on education, its reproductive healthcare cuts and its decimation of gun control measures.