Philadelphia Advocates Oppose ‘Immoral’ Reconciliation Budget

On Aug. 5, Philadelphia Jewish community members urged members of Congress to oppose what they termed the “immoral” reconciliation budget passed in July, which cuts federal funding for social safety net programs.

Organized by the National Council of Jewish Women, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger and the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies, A Moral Response to an Immoral Budget: Jewish Day of Action engaged advocates both virtually and in person in a joint effort to condemn the federal budget reconciliation law.

The budget cuts funding for Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Planned Parenthood and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, among other programs. It will take an estimated 17 million Americans off of their health care coverage and remove food assistance from millions of families and children, according to a press release.

“Congress’ reconciliation budget represents a fundamental betrayal of both our American and Jewish values,” Sheila Katz, NCJW’s CEO, said in the press release. “Choosing to take food from children and strip health care from those in need is a shameful abandonment of our shared responsibility to protect those who are struggling.”

“The impact of these cuts is going to be felt immediately by families in every town, city, and state in the nation,” Reuben Rotman, the president and CEO of The Network, said in the press release. “People will lose health insurance, children will go hungry, and families will face impossible choices between rent, food and medicine. Clinics and hospitals are already announcing they are being shuttered in response to these Medicaid cuts. Our Jewish values compel us to take action to defend these vital programs and the people they support.”

Katz added that together, Jewish organizations and community members will advocate for the country’s elected officials to return from recess on Sept. 6 and “restore the critical funding that reflects our values of dignity, equity and care.”

The budget reconciliation was previously known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” before President Donald Trump passed it into law on July 4.

“This budget may have passed, but our moral obligation to speak out has not,” Barbara Hoffman, NCJW’s co-state policy advocate for Pennsylvania, said in a statement emailed to Philadelphia Jewish Exponent. “Our Jewish values are consistent with ensuring that everyone has access to the necessities of life, including health care and nutritious food, regardless of their financial status.”

Hoffman was among the participants of the Day of Action.

“We should not be a country that deprives the needy to further enrich the pockets of the wealthy. This budget fails that test,” she wrote. “On Tuesday [Aug. 5] we stood up in Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania to urge Congress to use the coming appropriations process to fix what they broke.”

Darcy Hirsh, NCJW’s senior director of government relations and advocacy, took the lead in organizing the Jewish Day of Action beginning in early July, although she has been organizing against this bill since the start of 2025.

“Once the Big Beautiful Bill Act passed the House of Representatives [on July 3] and was about to be signed into law by the president, we knew that we had to do something and we had to do something big,” she told Philadelphia Jewish Exponent. “We felt that this moment was essential.”

Twenty-five national Jewish and secular organizations serving millions of Americans participated in the Day of Action, including Avodah, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, J Street, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and the Union for Reform Judaism.

Hirsh helped mobilize community members from across the United States to meet, call and email their representatives on the Day of Action as many of the budget cuts will not go into effect until after the November midterm elections.

She intentionally chose Aug. 5 for the Day of Action because senators and representatives are in their home districts for recess, “so constituents can really hold their lawmakers accountable.”

She said this mission aligns with her work at NCJW because social service programs directly benefit women, children and families: “As Jews, we’re guided by the Torah to feed the hungry, heal the sick and love our neighbors as ourselves.”