WASHINGTON – Alabama is highly dependent on federal money to support health care, food assistance and infrastructure, and the state’s nonprofits are urging Congress to consider these programs when crafting their budget priorities.
For every $1 in federal taxes Alabamians pay, the state receives over $2 in return, Robyn Hyden, executive director of Alabama Arise said.
“There’s no part of our state and local governments that are not hugely benefiting from federal funds,” Hyden told Alabama Daily News.
The state received more than $14.5 billion in federal funds in fiscal year 2024. A full breakdown shows billions went to health and human services, such as Head Start, ALL Kids, and child protective services. More than $2 billion went to nutrition and agriculture programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Women, Infants and Children, and agricultural research. More than $1 billion went to highways, bridges and airports.
Alabama Arise is pushing for the state’s congressional delegation to remember the impact federal dollars have on communities as the House and Senate work on federal spending plans for the next 10 years to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda.
The nonprofit along with 55 partners sent a letter to Alabama’s federal lawmakers urging them to prioritize expansions of tax provisions to help working families and to oppose tax cuts for the wealthy through an extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts.
“I truly do not believe that we sent people to DC to cut programs and services that help children, disabled people and veterans,” Hyden told ADN. “I don’t think that’s popular.”
Hyden said the groups will send another letter to Congress next week asking them to save Medicaid and SNAP.
“It’s hard to overstate how foundational Medicaid is to our entire healthcare infrastructure,” Hyden said. “So even if you yourself do not receive Medicaid, it’s critical to note that half of all kids in our state are covered by Medicaid.”
Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP are possible under the budget plan. The GOP House budget resolution, which passed out of committee on a party line vote Thursday, outlines a goal of cutting mandatory spending by $2 trillion.
The Agriculture Committee, responsible for nutrition programs such as SNAP, is set to reduce spending by $230 billion. The Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees health care spending, is set to reduce spending by $880 billion.
The House budget plan also includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a $4 trillion increase to the debt limit.
U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, posted on X that she will fight back against those tax cuts. She pointed out that “over half of all births in the state of Alabama are paid for by Medicaid and 45 percent of all Alabamians Medicaid beneficiaries are children. It’s simply unacceptable.”
🚨 Right now, House Republicans are taking the first steps to cut your health care in order to give tax breaks to the very wealthy. It’s unacceptable and I will be fighting back!! pic.twitter.com/S5UgzX8QlJ
— Rep. Terri A. Sewell (@RepTerriSewell) February 13, 2025
Defense and immigration spending would get boosts under the House budget plan. The Armed Services Committee will get $100 billion. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, chair of the committee, said he was hoping for more money to bolster defense capabilities.
“It’s better than nothing, but it’s not the $125 billion I was expecting,” Rogers told ADN.
The Senate is also working on its own budget plan to increase funding for the military and border. Senate Budget Committee Chair Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, said his plan would increase spending by $85.5 billion each year to be paid for by that same amount in spending cuts. The Senate plan does not include Trump’s tax cuts. Those would be in a separate bill.
The Senate budget plan also passed out of committee last week along party lines and could be taken up on the floor this week. However, the House and Senate will have to agree on the same budget resolution to start the reconciliation process, which allows the legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority.
As Congress continues its work on federal spending, Hyden said it’s important for lawmakers to understand the impact cuts to certain federally funded programs could have on Alabamians.
“We do think we’re in a crisis,” Hyden said. “We’re raising the alarm that now is the time to speak out for those programs and services that people rely on.”