We are in the midst of a looming national humanitarian crisis. With the federal government shutdown ongoing, vital supports for millions of Americans are at risk of being halted. Funding is at an impasse. Four essential supports that millions of low-income Americans rely on are at risk: continued full monthly payments of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; the immediate release of the first-winter energy credits that provides heat for low-income households; expanded healthcare protections under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before the close of the open enrollment season; and preservation of the Low‑Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) for affordable housing. If Congress fails to act immediately, families, especially children, seniors, people with disabilities, and low-wage workers will face severe hardship. 

This is not simply a matter of negotiating appropriations for the fiscal year 2025-2026; it is a moral and democratic crisis if these supports falter.

What is the impact?

• SNAP is the nation’s most effective nutrition safety net for children. CBPP reports that nearly 64% of SNAP recipients are families with children. USDA reports that SNAP served an average of 41.7 million participants per month (about 12.3 % of U.S. residents) in 2024. 
• Energy burdens remain critically high. A recent study found that ACEEE reports that one in four low-income households spends more than 15 % of their income on energy bills. When energy credits or relief are delayed or withheld, families face difficult choices on what essential needs to cover or go without, shutoffs, health risks and deeper poverty.
• The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit has financed approximately 3.85 million affordable apartments since its inception and served nearly 9 million households.       According to a recent report, housing-credit properties enable residents to pay on average $653 less/month than market rent (over $7,800/year). Interrupting those supports threatens stable housing for millions of households, pushing them into instability, homelessness or worsened health.

When support for essentials like food, energy, health care, or housing falters, the effects ripple through society reducing access to nutritious food, increasing illness, heightening the risk of homelessness, and deepening inequality. Such failures also erode public faith in a democracy meant to serve the common good. These programs have bipartisan roots and broad public backing, forming a moral foundation for our democracy. Refusing to fund them sends a stark signal: that our commitment to human security and dignity is optional.

We urge Congress and the Administration to take bipartisan action to: 

1. Ensure immediate release of contingency funding for SNAP benefits, 
2. Release the first-winter energy immediately for low-income and moderate-income households to receive prior to December 1st, 
3. Extend and protect the ACA’s key provisions, 
4. As well as maintain and strengthen affordable housing tax credits. 

Failing to act will allow these interconnected threats to deepen into crises that undermine both human well-being and the democratic common good. These are not partisan programs—they are human-needs supports that reflect our Christian call to seek justice, mercy and compassion for all. When we protect SNAP, energy relief, ACA protections and housing credits, we uphold that calling in a tangible way, and we model constructive collaboration across ideological lines.

The PC(USA) stands committed to recognizing the Imago Dei, the God-given dignity of every person. As stated in our denomination’s commitments, we are called to live out faith by caring for the vulnerable and working together across divides for the common good. Whether Republican, Democrat or Independent, our nation shares the moral responsibility to ensure no person is left without food, shelter, health care or warmth. Scripture affirms:

"My people will abide in peaceful habitations, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."  Isaiah 32:18 

We urge you to contact your U.S. Senator, House Representative, and the Administration today and urge them to:

1. Ensure uninterrupted SNAP benefits during the shutdown.
2. Release the first-winter energy credit immediately to low- and moderate-income households.
3. Extend and safeguard ACA protections, including coverage for pre-existing conditions, premium supports, and Medicaid expansion, that roll back harmful cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
4. Preserve and expand affordable housing tax credits, so that low-income families have access to decent, stable, affordable housing.

We cannot wait. The integrity of our social safety nets, the dignity of our neighbors, and the health of our democracy are at stake. Write your elected policymakers today!