By Nancy L. Sasaki
In San Diego County, we believe in dignity for all, especially for hardworking families like Juan and Roberta’s. With four children and an income of just $15,000 a year from Juan’s Uber driving, every dollar counts.
They once paid $350 for tax preparation—money they couldn’t spare. However, after discovering the San Diego County EITC Coalition’s free tax preparation services, they received a $4,300 refund, including credits from the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. That refund was transformative: it paid for a desktop computer so their daughters could do homework and for car repairs that kept Juan on the road. For families like theirs, free tax help and refundable credits aren’t just helpful—they’re life-changing.
But right now, Congress is pushing through a bill that will erase almost all of Juan and Roberta’s gains and cut their family off from the financial support they need to survive.
For more than 100 years, our goal at United Way of San Diego County has been to ensure every child gets the education they need to succeed and every family—no matter their income—has a fair shot at stability. We do this through community partnerships that help families access the financial resources they need, such as the San Diego County Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition and financial education workshops through our SparkPoint program. This mission is more critical than ever, especially in light of new data showing that San Diego currently has the highest inflation rate in the country. The average San Diego County family makes $46,000 less than what they need in order to survive—and many of the hardworking families we serve make less than that.
It harms us all when the federal government threatens the health, safety, and dignity of millions of Americans, including our struggling families and neighbors right here in San Diego, with drastic cuts to social services. The pandemic strained our already fraying social safety net, and we cannot let these protections for families erode further. That’s why I’m calling on everyone in our community to take action to halt H.R. 1, the “Big Beautiful Bill Act,” currently under debate in Congress.
This bill will not balance the budget or reduce the national deficit, but it will take food and healthcare from children and tax credits from working families. It substantially decreases SNAP, Medicaid, and the Child Tax Credit, which are lifelines that thousands of San Diego County residents like Juan and Roberta rely on every day.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, 13.7 million Americans will lose health care. Research from Yale and the University of Pennsylvania estimates more than 51,000 additional people will die each year if these cuts go through.
Programs like Medicaid and SNAP prevent homelessness, hunger, and health emergencies, giving San Diego families the stability they need for their children to thrive in school and life. In San Diego County alone:
Nearly one million people rely on Medicaid for health care.
Over 129,000 children receive food support through SNAP.
Around 30,000 working families benefit from the Child or Earned Income Tax Credit—although many do not know about these credits or claim them.
HR-1 will gut these supports, and many members of Congress are aiming to push this bill through to President Trump’s desk in less than a month.
There’s a better way. Congress should work for us, not pull the rug out from families as the cost of essentials steadily rises. After all, we know that SNAP puts food in children’s mouths before, during, and after school. Medicaid funds our hospitals, gives grandparents the health and dignity they deserve, and keeps people healthy enough to go to work. Tax credits, like the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, help working parents afford childcare, transportation, and school supplies. If HR-1 passes, we at United Way of San Diego County expect a sharp increase in calls for emergency rent, food, and healthcare assistance. Our community safety nets are already strained. This bill would tear more holes in that net—and leave thousands of our family members and neighbors to fall through, which is why I urge every reader to call or email their Congressional representative and Senators today and urge them to reject this bill. Find your representative at https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member and tell them:
“I am concerned that HR-1 will harm my neighbors, my family, and my community in San Diego. These cuts, particularly to SNAP, Medicaid, and the Earned Income Tax Credit, are too deep, too fast, and too dangerous.”
United Way of San Diego County mobilizes communities to take action so that all can thrive and will not waver in our commitment to families like Juan and Roberta’s. We’re working toward a future where every person in every community can reach their full potential. We will treat everyone – all members of our community, whoever they are, wherever they come from – with respect, dignity, and compassion in all that we do.
To keep doing this work, we need your voice. Please join us in calling on our representatives to reject this bill and help us keep our communities strong.
Nancy L. Sasaki is President and CEO of United Way of San Diego County and lives in Clairemont.
