More than 100 organizations from across Alabama are urging federal lawmakers to vote against a Congressional budget that they say would jeopardize health care and food assistance for families.

On Tuesday night, the U.S. House passed a budget resolution that could lead to more than $1 trillion of cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits across the nation over the next decade, while extending tax cuts passed during President Trump’s first term.

“Such cuts would damage our communities, devastate our state budget and weaken Alabama’s economy,” the 112 organizations, part of Alabama Arise, said in a letter to U.S. Sens. Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville, and to the state’s members of the House of Representatives

Medicaid is the largest source of federal funds in Alabama’s budget, according to the coalition. More 72% of Alabama Medicaid’s funding comes from the federal government — the second most of any state. Last year, Alabama Medicaid’s budget was $955 million

The organizations said the budget that passed the House this week would directly harm the Alabamians enrolled in these programs. More than 1 million people are enrolled in Medicaid in the state, including over 50% of children.

Nearly 400,000 households and 333,590 children receive food assistance through SNAP, according to the Alabama Department of Human Resources.

SNAP benefits help families buy food, while Medicaid provides health care to people with low incomes. It is the most common health insurance provider in rural communities.

Medicaid also helps fund health clinics in underserved areas and rural hospitals, which are already at risk.

Since 2011, seven rural hospitals have closed, according to the Alabama Hospital Association, due partly to the state not expanding Medicaid.

And reports predict that more than half of the state’s 52 rural hospitals are at risk of closing, with 19 at an “immediate risk,” according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.

“Federal Medicaid cuts would undermine health care access for children, pregnant women and nursing home residents,” Alabama Arise and its partners wrote. “Cuts also would strain the state’s General Fund budget and further imperil rural hospitals and clinics.”

The budget resolution does not mention Medicaid specifically, but instead tasks the Energy and Commerce Committee with finding $880 billion in savings. According to The New York Times, the committee could cut everything that’s not health care-related and would still be short $600 billion.

With nearly one in four children in Alabama experiencing food insecurity, the organizations also warned that cuts “would increase hunger.”

The organizations called SNAP “the most effective anti-hunger program in the United States,” adding that its “role in reducing hunger is especially important in Alabama and other states with high poverty rates.”

A federal government study found that SNAP helps reduce the likelihood of being food insecure — meaning you don’t have enough to eat or know where your next meal will come from — by 30%.

“In a time of persistently higher food prices, [SNAP] is more important than ever,” the organizations wrote. “Every dollar of federal SNAP funding not only affords families the necessary nutrition, but it also helps stimulate local economies.”

The budget passed the House along party lines with all but one Republican member voting in support, and all Democrats voting against the resolution.

Every Republican representative from Alabama voted yes — Reps. Robert Aderholt, Mike Rogers, Gary Palmer, Barry Moore and Dale Strong. Alabama’s Democratic Reps. Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures voted no.

After the vote, Sewell, D-Birmingham, posted on X, saying, “ripping health care away from America’s children in order to fund tax cuts for the wealthy is unconscionable. God help us.”

“In my district, access to affordable and quality health care is a top concern, especially in rural communities,” said Figures, D-Mobile, in a press release. “Under this ill-conceived bill, children, parents, and seniors will lose critical health care coverage. If Republicans truly cared about families, they would prioritize teachers, service members, and first responders, not provide tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.

Aderholt, R-Haleyville, defended the bill, saying it’s what his constituents wanted.

“In November, more than 83% of voters in Alabama’s Fourth District cast their ballots for President Trump, making it clear that they wanted a return to strong, conservative leadership. They voted for secure borders, energy independence, economic prosperity, and a strong national defense. Today’s vote was the first procedural step toward delivering on those priorities.”

The budget is still far from final — the Senate and House must now agree on an identical budget and pass a single funding bill for the president’s approval.

The local organizations, led by Alabama Arise, wrote to the state’s House members as well as Sens. Britt and Tuberville this week.

“We write to request respectfully that, in your deliberations about federal budget and tax policy, you ensure that Congress protects the health and nutrition safety net that keeps so many Alabama children fed and healthy and that helps so many Alabamians make ends meet,” the groups wrote.