House Reconciliation Bill Falls Short for Children and Families, Say Save the Children and Save the Children Action Network

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives has approved a reconciliation bill that includes promising improvements to the tax code and sweeping changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). While the bill enhances the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and employer-provided child care tax incentives, more work remains to make the CTC fully refundable and to expand access to the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC). At the same time, the bill also proposes significant cost shifts and stricter eligibility requirements for SNAP—raising concerns about the potential impact on millions of families.

Save the Children (SAVE) and its advocacy arm, Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) warn that the proposed changes to SNAP could jeopardize food access for millions of Americans, particularly children, as grocery prices remain elevated and many families continue to face economic hardship. In response to these challenges, SAVE and SCAN are transforming how policy gets made in the nation’s capital through bold grassroots action, powerful storytelling, and direct engagement with candidates and lawmakers to drive investments that expand early education access, improve child care options, and child hunger. SCAN activated its network of supporters in all 50 states, sending over 1.2 million messages to lawmakers this year alone. 

“We appreciate the House’s efforts to increase the value of the Child Tax Credit and improve the employer-provided child care credit (45F),” said Allison Dembeck, Head of Policy for Save the Children. “These tax code changes represent a step forward in making child care more accessible and putting more money in families’ pockets. We urge the Senate to strengthen these provisions by making the CTC fully refundable and expanding the CDCTC, the only tax credit specifically designed to help families cover child care costs.”

However, the proposed changes to SNAP threaten to leave many families worse off. As one of the country’s most effective tools for reducing hunger and supporting economic stability, SNAP currently supports more than 40 million people—including one in four children in the United States.

“SNAP has long been a proven program for reducing child hunger, strengthening families, and boosting local economies,” said Christy Gleason, Executive Director of Save the Children Action Network. “The proposed changes would impose new burdens on states and communities at a time when food insecurity remains high and families are still recovering from the pandemic’s economic impacts. Investing in SNAP is investing in America. We urge lawmakers to protect and strengthen this essential program.”

If enacted, the changes could reduce benefits for nearly 11 million individuals, including more than 4 million children, over 500,000 older adults, and many people with disabilities. SCAN and its supporters urge lawmakers to evaluate the reconciliation bill holistically, with a focus on family impact, and long-term health.

As the bill moves to the Senate, SAVE and SCAN are committed to working with lawmakers to further strengthen the tax provisions—particularly by enhancing the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit to better support working families. At the same time, SAVE and SCAN call on Senators to uphold SNAP’s core mission: ensuring that every child, in every community, has consistent access to nutritious food.