House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks against HR1, the federal budget reconciliation bill, urging lawmakers and advocates to "press on"

Dear {name},

This week, Congress passed the federal budget reconciliation bill, aka the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."  

The widely shared, deeply held values of the world’s faith traditions offer a vision of the Beloved Community, in which human needs are met and conflicting priorities are mediated. Through the OBBBA, Congress has affirmed a different vision.

The OBBBA does not advance the purposes of the many policies and programs it upends. It does not reflect the ideals our nation has articulated in our foundational documents including our commitment to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for all the members of our community. It certainly does not fulfill the responsibilities of our elected representatives to respond to the needs of the people they serve. And it sets in motion policy feedback loops that will haunt our state and nation.

WATCH: Sen. Raphael Warnock reflects on the tension between many of the provisions in the federal budget reconciliation bill and the shared teachings of many faith traditions to love the neighbor, do justice, and care for the marginalized.

The healthcare provisions in the reconciliation package are expected to cut Medicaid and Marketplace health insurance for more than 2 million Texans—more than 10 percent of all the Americans expected to lose coverage—in the state that already has the highest uninsured rate in the nation. The food assistance provisions will force the Texas Legislature to spend more than $700 million a year in state funds on SNAP or reduce nutrition assistance for poor families. The rollbacks of clean energy policies are projected to cost Texas households $48 billion in extra electricity costs over 10 years. Business leaders say the law could cost Texas more than 100,000 jobs. Health sector leaders say the law will cost rural hospitals in Texas $4 billion over 10 years, forcing some hospitals to close and others to cut services like maternity care.

WATCH: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse gives a plain-spoken explanation of how electric pricing works and why the reconciliation bill would drive up Texas rates.

Not all Texans will suffer directly: the law includes tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthy. It includes several provisions targeting select Texans, including a new federal school voucher program to benefit parents whose children attend private school. Texas' Senator John Cornyn championed a provision eliminating the tax on firearm silencers and short-barreled firearms, one of several specific tax changes that could impact state revenues. The package includes a special carve-out to reimburse Texas and other border states up to $13.5 billion for several years of border security spending, and increases federal detention spending by $45 billion, with much of the new spending expected to come to Texas. 

The OBBBA will impact the lives and livelihoods of the majority of Texans. In the face of the law’s sweeping provisions, many of which will have direct bearing on the state budget and state policies and programs, Texas Impact urges the Texas Legislature to waste no time in assessing the damage and planning for mitigation.

We call on Texas House and Senate committees to convene public hearings immediately, so lawmakers can understand the impact the reconciliation act has on the myriad state programs and policies it touches. We also call on the Legislative Budget Board to release estimates of the fiscal impacts of the new law, so legislators can take necessary steps to adjust our state budget. And we call on the Comptroller to issue a revised biennial revenue estimate taking into account the dynamic impacts of the new federal law on state revenue projections. 

Texas faith communities have worked relentlessly to inform Congress and the public of the harms we anticipate from the reconciliation bill. Now that the bill has become law, we stand ready to help our state lawmakers take stock and identify paths forward. We will do this by mobilizing their constituents to share their experiences through public hearings and private meetings. We will equip local congregations to clarify for lawmakers the challenges the new law presents for their ministries and missions.

Also this week, Lutheran Bishop Sue Briner published an op-ed urging Texas leaders to re-think repeal of the Texas Dream Act. Bishop Briner's op-ed highlights the distinctive values of our faiths: love of neighbor, promotion of peace and justice, advocacy for the vulnerable and marginalized. On these, people of diverse beliefs speak with one voice.

As statements pour in from faith leaders across the nation opposing the OBBBA, we can take heart knowing that none of us is working alone. Instead, we work hand in hand with people of faith and conscience, near and far, who share our vision of Beloved Community. 

Love,

Bee Moorhead

Texas Impact Executive Director

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