On July 3, 2025, New York City’s business and workforce communities called on Congress to reject the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which would impose devastating cuts to Medicaid and SNAP—threatening jobs, healthcare access, and local economies.
Read the letter below to the Honorable Tom Cole, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; the Honorable Rosa DeLauro, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee; the Honorable Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee; and the Honorable Patty Murray, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Dear Chairman Cole, Chair Collins, Ranking Member DeLauro, and Vice Chair Murray:
We reach out to you as members of the New York City business and workforce development community, including private sector employers, labor unions, educational institutions, training providers, policymaking entities, advocacy groups, and philanthropic institutions.
We are writing to express our serious economic and workforce concerns regarding the devastating impact of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” not only on New York City, but on other large and small cities and rural towns, and in states of every region.
The numbers indicate that the proposed cuts would not only reduce access to health insurance and food assistance for low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities, but would also lead to significant job losses for the very professionals who serve them, and cause deep contractions in local and state economies nationwide.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” proposes substantial cuts, including an estimated $863 billion to Medicaid and $295 billion to SNAP nationwide over ten years. Although these are federal cuts, their ripple effects will be deeply felt at the state and local levels, especially in New York City. A recent analysis from the Commonwealth Fund projects the following:
Significant Job Losses: New York State alone could lose 114,000 jobs in the first year of implementation of proposed cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. These job losses would overwhelmingly concentrate in New York City, particularly within our critical healthcare and social assistance sectors, which employ more than one million New Yorkers and are a cornerstone of the local economy. Nationally, the U.S. could lose a total of 1.2 million jobs in the first year of implementation alone.
Economic Contraction: In New York State, gross domestic product is projected to fall by $17.6 billion in the first full year of implementation. Nationwide, cuts to Medicaid and SNAP are projected to cause state gross domestic products to fall by $154.3 billion in that year, exceeding the federal savings. This significant economic contraction will result in substantial revenue reductions for both large and small healthcare providers, as well as food-related businesses and other interconnected economic sectors, further jeopardizing local employment opportunities.
Impact on Vulnerable Populations and Essential Workers: Medicaid and SNAP serve as critical lifelines for millions of New Yorkers, including low-wage workers, caregivers, and students. These programs not only provide access to essential healthcare and nutrition but also strengthen the local economy by supporting frontline professionals, such as home health workers, teaching assistants, childcare providers, and service workers. Their work keeps the city running, and their earnings circulate back into local communities.
As numerous analyses have shown, including recent work by The Brookings Institute and KFF, the only way the proposals could generate significant federal savings is by disenrolling the very individuals they claim to protect. As one analysis notes, “they will have to disenroll those they promise to protect… either low-cost beneficiaries… who work more than 80 hours a month, or… much more expensive beneficiaries [with serious health limitations].” Where such policies have been tested, they have not led to improved employment outcomes. The implications of these findings are clear: beyond harming individual beneficiaries, the proposed cuts would deliver widespread damage to our economy and workforce.
Call to Action: We urge you to weigh the severe consequences that the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” would impose on businesses, workers, and residents not only in New York City but also across the nation. We ask you to recognize that these devastating cuts to Medicaid and SNAP would do more harm than good, reducing state GDPs by more than the federal savings achieved through the proposed cuts, and eliminating more than one million jobs nationally. Accordingly, we call on you to oppose these cuts.
We are committed to working with both committees to identify fiscally responsible alternatives that preserve jobs, protect access to healthcare, and strengthen local economies. Rather than advancing cuts that would destabilize communities, we urge you to pursue solutions that reinforce the workforce, support businesses, and promote long-term economic resilience. We appreciate your leadership and stand ready to collaborate to safeguard the future of New York City and communities across the country.
Sincerely,
Gregory J Morris
Chief Executive Officer
NYC Training & Employment Coalition
Joined by:
1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds
Andromeda Community Initiative
ARC XVI Ft. Washington, Inc.
Avenues for Justice
Bandana
BronxWorks
Bruce Carmel Consulting
CAMBA, Inc.
Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)
Center for Family Life in Sunset Park
Change Impact
Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC)
Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York (CCC)
CMP
Coalition for Hispanic Family Services
COFCCA
Community League of the Heights, Inc
Comprehensive Youth Development
Cooperative Home Care Associates
Disability Belongs
Dollaride
Dominican Women’s Development Center
Drive Change
East Side House
Emma’s Torch
Encore Community Services
Exodus Transitional Community
First Tech Fund
FPWA
Futures and Options
Goddard Riverside
Goodwill Industries of Greater NY and Northern NJ
Grace Institute of New York
Grand Street Settlement
Green City Force
Hamilton-Madison House
Henry Street Settlement
Homeless Services United
Hudson Guild
Human Services Council
Inwood Community Services, Inc.
Japanese American Social Services, Inc.
Jericho Project
Job Path
JobsFirstNYC
Leap Fund
Liberated Success, Inc.
Literacy Assistance Center
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
MMCC
NADAP
New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals
New York Fashion Workforce Development Coalition
New York Immigration Coalition
Nigerian Muslim Association
Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC)
NYCID
Omni Solutions NYC, LLC
Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow
Path to Jobs
PHI
Project Renewal, Inc.
Rebuilding Together NYC
Red Hook Initiative
Rising Treetops at Oakhurst
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden
South Asian Fund For Education, Scholarship and Training, Inc
St Nicks Alliance
Stacks+Joules
StreetWise Partners
STRIVE New York
Sunnyside Community Services
Tech Kids Unlimited
The Door – A Center of Alternatives, Inc.
The Fortune Society
The Green Launchpad
The Health & Housing Consortium
The HOPE Program
United Neighborhood Houses
United Way of New York State & 211 New York Inc.
University Settlement Society of New York
Urban Upbound
West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing
Westcott Community Center
WPTI