On Friday, June 13, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, alongside 19 national health and nutrition organizations, sent a letter to members of Congress, urging the Senate and House Appropriations Committees to defend progress made toward a healthier nation and world. The President’s FY26 budget and the House Reconciliation Bill (H.R. 1) call for unprecedented cuts and a restructuring of evidence-based nutrition programs and initiatives that support overall health, wellness, and disease prevention. Furthermore, an anticipated recission bill is expected to codify cuts to U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs that fight famine and malnutrition worldwide – while also weakening domestic disease prevention efforts and harming the health of millions of Americans.  

The House Reconciliation Bill (H.R. 1) would: 

• Make significant cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which also reduces the number of students automatically eligible for free and reduced-priced healthy school meals, reducing access to vital nutrition.
• Pause Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rules, which ease administrative burdens, effectively blocking beneficiary access and modernizations which would improve individuals’ ability to meet daily living expenses, including food and medications. 
• Eliminate the Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program (which funds SNAP-Ed). 

The President’s FY26 budget would: 

• Decrease funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and dramatically cut the Cash-Value Voucher/Benefit (CVV/B) benefit for fruits and vegetables. 
• Decimate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. 
• Deeply cut National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding and eliminate United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding for the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN). 

The Academy is calling on Congress to use their votes to support evidence-based food and nutrition programs that are proven to work. Devaluing these programs would have severe implications, and the restructuring or outright elimination of existing programs with no visibility into new investments, initiatives, or programs is only moving the country further from the stated goals of the Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture.  

This message has been prepared for you to send to Congress. When sending your action alert, we encourage you to share stories and examples of how these programs have made a difference for you or your communities.