B’nai B’rith International is disappointed the U.S. House of Representatives passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act because of our concern about the impact on seniors.

We are deeply concerned about potential deep cuts to programs vital to older adults, such as Medicaid, which helps pay for crucial medical expenses, and SNAP—the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program—which provides nutrition assistance for low-income individuals, including seniors. We worry the administration’s priorities could be funded at the expense of these social safety net programs that provide critical support for older Americans. Making healthcare and nutrition less accessible for older adults by reducing funding or imposing work requirements could lead to poorer health outcomes for those who desperately need these services.

According to the U.S. government, 7.2 million seniors are enrolled in Medicaid. This program helps pay for medical and nursing home expenses, prescription drugs and more. According to the National Council on Aging, about 4.8 million people over age 60 received vital nutrition assistance from SNAP.

It should be noted that B’nai B’rith believes the provision in the bill to increase the standard deduction for federal income taxes for qualifying older adults is promising. This should provide some older adults with additional financial resources.

We call on the Senate to reject those aspects of the bill that could harm older adults, and instead prioritize the critical services they need.