Fearing deep cuts to the nation’s largest food assistance program, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet convened a group of anti-hunger advocates and Colorado residents on Thursday for a virtual discussion on Republicans’ reconciliation bill. 

The sprawling domestic policy package being advanced through Congress seeks to deliver much of President Donald Trump’s agenda on taxes, health care, energy, immigration and more. The legislation, which Trump and Republicans are calling the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act, passed the U.S. House last month by a single vote and is now working its way through the Senate. 

Republicans hold a 220-212 majority in the House and a 53-47 majority in the Senate.

Included in the legislation are steep reductions in federal funding for a host of safety-net programs, including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP. The cuts are being eyed to offset an extension of tax cuts. 

The House-passed version of the bill cuts SNAP by more than $285 billion over the next 10 years, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. 

Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, and anti-hunger leaders say it amounts to the largest cut in federal food assistance in the country’s history. 

“The cuts proposed would structurally change our nation’s first line of defense against hunger, pushing costs to states, which is revenue Colorado simply does not have,” said Mandy Nuku, executive director for Feeding Colorado, part of the national Feeding America food bank network. “It will mean impossible choices not only for families but for grocers and agro-businesses.”

Roughly 617,000 Coloradans receive SNAP benefits each month, according to information from Gov. Jared Polis’ office. Polis on Friday sent a letter on behalf of Colorado farm and anti-hunger groups urging Congress to reject cuts to the program.

Nationally, the program serves 41.7 million, or about 1 in 8 Americans.

Along with tighter work requirements, which anti-hunger advocates fear could lead to many Americans being kicked off SNAP, Trump’s domestic policy bill would force states with higher rates of payment errors to cover more of the program’s cost. The House-passed version of the bill would reduce funding for some states anywhere from 15% to 25%. 

Bennet said that could result in an additional cost of $300 million to Colorado, which is already facing what state leaders expect will be multiyear budget deficits. This past legislative session, lawmakers had to cut $1.2 billion to close a revenue gap in this year’s state budget. 

The Senate is currently drafting its version of the bill, looking to temper some of the cuts passed in the House. Senators are eyeing a reduction in funding for states by as much as 15%, which Bennet believes would cost Colorado around $150 billion. 

“In either case, it’s the largest cuts that have ever been proposed, and it would have a material effect on communities throughout Colorado, both urban and rural,” Bennet said. 

Community members who joined Bennet for the virtual call stressed that SNAP benefits are already insufficient for covering most people’s food expenses, with many still having to rely on food banks to close the gap. 

The expiration of heightened SNAP benefits, which were increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to an uptick in hunger across the country. In Colorado, the food insecurity rate jumped from 8.1% in 2021 to 11.2% in 2023, according to the Colorado Health Institute. 

“We’ll often see many working families who are SNAP recipients access our network of hunger-relief partners (during) that third or fourth week of the month,” Nuku said. “So, cuts to these benefits, when they are already accessing our network as a result of inadequate benefit levels, will only further exacerbate that problem.”

Libby Triebel, a Colorado Springs single mother of four, said even with SNAP, “There’s months where I go and I’m scrimping and scraping and finding a food pantry to go to.” 

Triebel said any reduction in SNAP benefits “would be harmful on, I believe, these families out here that are just making it by to survive.”

The average monthly SNAP benefit in 2023 for a household was $332, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program. 

Colorado’s eight lawmakers in the U.S. House voted along party lines for Trump’s policy package. Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd, who represents much of western and southern Colorado, voted for the measure while Rep. Joe Neguse, a Democrat whose district includes the central and northern mountains, opposed it. 

The state’s two senators, Bennet and John Hickenlooper, have lambasted the bill in the Senate, where Republicans will need 51 votes to pass it. Any changes made to the bill will send it back to the House for final approval before it can move to Trump’s desk for his signature.