{"id":66076,"date":"2025-07-15T01:01:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T08:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=66076"},"modified":"2025-07-15T14:07:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T21:07:19","slug":"op-ed-the-big-beautiful-bill-wont-make-america-healthy-again66076","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/07\/15\/op-ed-the-big-beautiful-bill-wont-make-america-healthy-again66076\/","title":{"rendered":"Op-ed: The Big Beautiful Bill Won\u2019t Make America Healthy Again"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/div>

On July 4, President Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)<\/a>. While the OBBBA may be beautiful for the ultra-rich, for most Americans it will be brutal, especially for the most vulnerable, with experts asserting that this is the most regressive tax and budget bill<\/a> in modern U.S. history.<\/p><\/div>

\n

The bill includes the most significant cuts ever enacted to federal benefit programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Millions of Americans will be hungrier and sicker as a result of the OBBBA. It\u2019s also an absolute contradiction to the claims and narrative of the Trump administration\u2019s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) platform, and a betrayal to the voters who feel an affinity to MAHA due to its stated focus on fighting chronic disease.<\/p>\n

Given the devastating impacts of the OBBBA, what MAHA will ultimately accomplish under the Trump Administration is questionable.<\/p>\n

In May, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the MAHA Commission released the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment<\/a>. This first \u201cMAHA report\u201d asserted that the health of American children is in crisis, in part due to poor diet, lack of physical activity, and exposure to harmful chemicals.<\/p>\n

As public health advocates, we at the Center for Science in the Public Interest<\/a> (CSPI) wholeheartedly agree with this diagnosis. This newfound federal focus on nutrition, chemical safety, and chronic disease could be a dream come true for advocates like CSPI, presenting a potential opportunity for tangible policy action that can directly improve Americans\u2019 health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new law absolutely contradicts the claims and narrative of the Trump administration\u2019s MAHA platform.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But the devil is in the details, as we\u2019ve seen play out with the passage of the OBBBA. While the MAHA Commission is seeking to address a serious problem, whether it can successfully prevent and treat chronic disease depends on which factors the members deem to be driving the problem, what policy solutions they will choose to pursue, and who they will hold accountable.<\/p>\n

All these details will likely form the basis of the next MAHA Commission report, which will be released in August and include recommended policy strategies. We will be watching closely.<\/p>\n

There are some good ideas in the first MAHA report that we would like to see operationalized. Of concern, however, is that these good ideas are almost always contradicted by what the administration has done since January and is now planning to do through the OBBBA. Here are a few examples of what the first report says and how it contradicts what has actually been set in motion.<\/p>\n

Radical Transparency and Gold-Standard Science<\/b><\/p>\n

What they say: <\/b>\u201cThe U.S. government is committed to fostering radical transparency and gold-standard science.\u201d<\/p>\n

What they do:<\/b> There are no authors listed on the report, the single meeting of the MAHA Commission before the report\u2019s release was conducted behind closed doors<\/a>, and the report does not have a Methods section to explain how the authors came to their conclusions. There have also been serious concerns raised with the scientific integrity of the entire report due to misinterpretations and misattributions of citations, as well as citations to studies that do not exist\u2014which were likely written by AI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, entire sections of the report regurgitate RFK Jr.\u2019s pre-conceived, unsubstantiated beliefs (e.g., false claims about the harms of seed oils<\/a>). He recently publicly promoted a restaurant chain<\/a> that chose to fry its potatoes in beef tallow instead of seed oils\u2014a move restaurants switched away from over 30 years ago<\/a> due to strong evidence that beef tallow\u2019s high saturated fat content <\/b>increases the risk of heart disease, the number one killer in America.<\/span><\/p>\n

Support for Local Foods and Farmers <\/b><\/p>\n

What they say: \u201c<\/b>The greatest step the United States can take to reverse childhood chronic disease is to put whole foods produced by American farmers and ranchers at the center of healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n

What they do: <\/b>The administration <\/b>terminated over $1 billion in funding<\/a> for programs aiding schools and food banks in purchasing food from local producers. Farmers are speaking out<\/a> about the cumulative negative impact of the Administration\u2019s actions on their livelihoods, and school food service providers are advocating for increased funding<\/a> to support the provision of healthy, locally sourced foods in school meal programs.<\/p>\n

Funding High-Quality Research<\/b><\/p>\n

What they say: <\/b>\u201cIndustry interests dominate and distort scientific literature,\u201d so more independent research funding is needed for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).<\/p>\n

What they do:<\/b> The administration has proposed slashing NIH research funding by 40 percent<\/a>, unlawfully terminated thousands of grants (which CSPI successfully challenged in court<\/a>), and censored NIH research<\/a> with which the administration disagreed ideologically. The administration is also actively attacking academic institutions<\/a> and casting doubt on the integrity of the world\u2019s leading medical journals, even suggesting government scientists will be barred from publishing in them<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Food Chemical Safety <\/b><\/p>\n

What they say: <\/b>\u201cChildren are exposed to an increasing number of synthetic chemicals, some of which have been linked to developmental issues and chronic disease. The current regulatory framework should be continually evaluated to ensure that chemicals and other exposures do not interact together to pose a threat to the health of our children.\u201d<\/p>\n

What they do: <\/b>In April, the Administration fired all 200 employees in the Centers for Disease Control\u2019s Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice<\/a>, which is responsible for preventing exposure to environmental hazards, including lead poisoning in children. Then, in early June, agency staff received emails indicating that they should come back to work<\/a>, but senior officials in the agency itself advised employees that the decision may not be final.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the devastating impacts of the OBBBA, what MAHA will ultimately accomplish under the Trump Administration is questionable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This back-and-forth in staffing demonstrates a lack of commitment to protecting children from harmful chemicals and seriously undermines the agency\u2019s morale.<\/p>\n

We agree with that there is an urgent need to improve children\u2019s health, but the policies of the administration as demonstrated by the passage of the OBBBA do just the opposite. It remains to be seen whether the policies recommended in their upcoming strategy report will align with that narrative, or whether we will continue to see federal actions that directly contradict the MAHA rhetoric.<\/p>\n

To Protect Health, We Urge MAHA to Consider These Policies<\/b><\/p>\n

In the areas of improving diet and reducing chemical exposures in childhood (two of the four drivers of chronic diseases listed in the MAHA report), we urge the MAHA Commission to consider the following evidence-based policies.<\/p>\n

1. Publish Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) that adopt and uphold the science-based recommendations of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC).<\/b><\/p>\n

Fifty-five public health and medical organizations, including CSPI, support this recommendation<\/a>, given that the DGAs are required by law<\/a> to reflect the preponderance of scientific evidence, which the DGAC has summarized in its recent Scientific Report<\/a>. However, RFK Jr. has publicly stated that the DGAs will be only four pages long<\/a>, raising questions about their scientific validity.<\/p>\n

The DGAs matter not just for public dietary advice. They are also the cornerstone of federal nutrition programs and policies, directly shaping nutrition standards for national school meal programs, for example, and subsequently affecting the health of more than 30 million children who rely on those meals.<\/p>\n

2. Address the food and nutrition security needs of vulnerable children and communities who will go hungry due to cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the OBBBA<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Nearly one in four U.S. children receive SNAP benefits, which help reduce poverty, food insecurity, healthcare expenditures, and risk of chronic conditions later in life. But those children\u2014who are part of the 42.1 million people who rely on SNAP<\/a> to put food on the table\u2014will suffer due to the OBBBA.<\/p>\n

To pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, the OBBBA includes clauses creating bureaucratic hoops that roughly 8 million people<\/a> are projected to be unable to jump through, thus putting them at risk of losing their benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis newfound federal focus on nutrition, chemical safety, and chronic disease could be a dream come true. . . . But the devil is in the details.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The OBBBA imposed new work requirements on both SNAP<\/a> and Medicaid<\/a> beneficiaries; removed the SNAP work requirement exemptions for veterans, former foster youth, and people experiencing homelessness; and blocked immigrants who are lawfully present in the U.S., such as refugees and asylum seekers, from receiving SNAP benefits. Work requirements like these<\/a> ultimately increase costs to states and taxpayers, harm health, and drive struggling families deeper into poverty.<\/p>\n

In addition to dealing with new work requirements, starting in 2027 state governments will need to pay an unprecedented share<\/a> of the food benefits and administrative costs associated with SNAP. To cover these higher costs, states will scramble and likely resort to cutting benefits, limiting state employees\u2019 salaries, raising state taxes, or eliminating funding for other programs. In the worst-case scenario, states could completely withdraw from the nation\u2019s most important nutrition program entirely\u2014a disaster in the making.<\/p>\n

The OBBBA also limits future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan used to set SNAP benefit levels, which means that the government will have no flexibility to adjust SNAP benefits based on rising food prices, consumption patterns, or changes in dietary guidance.<\/p>\n

If the MAHA Commission truly aims to improve childhood health, its next report must provide policy solutions to ensure that children in food-insecure households are able to access and afford nutritious food as the OBBBA\u2019s provisions take effect.<\/p>\n

3. Reinstate funding for SNAP Education (SNAP-Ed).<\/b><\/p>\n

The OBBBA defunds SNAP-Ed, a nationwide program helping individuals eligible for SNAP make healthy choices on a limited budget. Evaluations of SNAP-Ed<\/a> have demonstrated its power to help families across the country. With cuts to SNAP described above, this support is even more critical. HHS\u2019s proposed $20 million \u201c Take Back Your Health\u201d<\/a> ad campaign is no substitute for the evidence-based strategies of SNAP-Ed, which was funded at $536 million in FY25<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4. Regulate the food industry to improve both chemical safety and nutrition.<\/b><\/p>\n

The MAHA report repeatedly bemoans the food industry\u2019s role in harming children\u2019s health but concludes with calls for industry deregulation <\/i>instead of increased accountability. We have seen this play out in reality, with RFK Jr. announcing plans to \u201cphase out\u201d synthetic food dyes<\/a>, but leaving it up to the industry to voluntarily remove dyes.<\/p>\n

To systematically improve food safety, the administration should take much-needed action on closing the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) loophole<\/a>, which allows companies to add new ingredients into the food supply without notifying FDA. So far, RFK Jr. has only ordered FDA to \u201cexplore\u201d what can be done about the loophole.<\/p>\n

And, while food chemical safety reform is important, it isn\u2019t enough\u2014the administration also needs to ensure that we\u2019re getting proper nutrition. It can do this by finalizing front-of-package nutrition labeling<\/a> on packaged foods and moving forward with added sugar and sodium reduction targets<\/a> across the food supply.<\/p>\n

Suggested Actions for Readers<\/b><\/p>\n

Implementing these strategies will require the government to allocate the necessary funds (through appropriations) and personnel to agencies (by undoing the mass firings) so that federal workers can do their jobs.<\/p>\n

You can act by signing letters and petitions to state and federal representatives around these issues, and by sharing your stories with your legislators and the media. You can also join CSPI\u2019s email list<\/a> to stay up to date on what the administration is actually doing\u2014not just what they\u2019re saying\u2014and receive action alerts to make your voice heard. Additional resources can be found at the\u00a0Center on Budget and Policy Priorities<\/a>, the Food Research & Action Center<\/a>, and No Kid Hungry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Together, we can hold the MAHA Commission and the administration to their word.<\/p>\n

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The bill includes the most significant cuts ever enacted to federal benefit programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Millions of Americans will be hungrier and sicker as a result of the OBBBA. 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