5 Reasons the “Big Beautiful Bill” Will Hurt Bay Area Families—and What We Need Now

The Federal Budget Reconciliation Bill, also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” has passed in Congress.

On the surface, it claims to promote fiscal responsibility. In reality, it guts the basic building blocks of survival for millions of people, right here in our region.

This bill doesn’t reflect dignity. It doesn’t reflect equity. It reflects abandonment.

Here are 5 devastating ways this bill will impact Bay Area families:

1. It Takes Food Away from Children and Working Families

   The bill slashes SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)—the federal food assistance program that helps families put meals on the table.

   In the Bay Area alone:

   • Over 100,000 children depend on SNAP.

   Without it, families will have to choose between paying rent and feeding themselves or feeding their children. No family should have to make that choice.

2. It Strips Away Health Care from Millions Who Need It Most

   Medicaid cuts in the bill would leave millions without access to essential and emergency care.

   Here’s what’s at stake:

   • 2.4 million Bay Area residents rely on Medicaid today – that’s a quarter of our population, which is HUGE.
   • The Congressional Budget Office estimates 13.7 million people nationwide will lose health coverage.
   • Independent studies predict 51,000 additional deaths every year if these cuts go through.
   • That’s not speculation. That’s what policy failure looks like in real lives lost.

3. It Discriminates Against Immigrant Families Who Pay Their Share

   The bill eliminates the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for families who file taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).

   These families:

   • Pay federal, state, and local taxes, contributing billions to our economy.
   • Are often essential workers, caregivers, and the backbone of our communities.
   • Stripping their benefits is not just unfair—it’s discriminatory.

4. It Won’t Balance the Budget—But It Will Break the Safety Net

   Despite the deep cuts, the bill does not meaningfully reduce the deficit. It does, however:

   • Add trillions to the national debt
   • Tear apart the social safety net.
   • Leave local nonprofits to shoulder the burden, without added support.

   At United Way Bay Area, our 211 helpline already receives an overwhelming number of calls for food, rent, and medical help. If this bill passes, those calls will spike. But the resources? They won’t.

   We are bracing for the fallout. But we shouldn’t have to.

5. It Fails the Moral Test of Any Budget: Whom Do We Choose to Protect?

   A budget is more than a financial document—it’s a moral one. And this bill chooses:

   • Tax breaks over meals for schoolchildren.
   • Corporate subsidies over care for seniors.
   • Politics over people.

   1.17 million working Bay Area families rely on the CTC and EITC. This bill doesn’t just make their lives harder—it sends a clear message that their lives don’t matter to the people writing the budget.

Now Is the Time to Stand Together

The Big Beautiful Bill is here.

It isn’t theory anymore.

Call your friends and family and check on them.
Show up, speak out, and stand united.

This bill isn’t about numbers or sides—it’s about people, and the people in the place we call home. It’s about whether we believe that every child deserves food, every senior deserves care, and every working family deserves a shot at stability. In the coming months and years, we will see the full impact of this Bill on our communities and our nation, and we will need each other.