New York, NY — 50 New York organizations — including Make the Road New York, Citizen Action of New York, New York Communities for Change, the New York Progressive Action Network, Assemble Long Island, and 350 NYC — have joined more than 200 groups nationwide urging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to block efforts by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans to claw back already-approved federal funding through an arcane and little-used process known as “rescissions.”

The groups signed a letter to Schumer and Senate leaders demanding that the upcoming federal spending bill include protections against partisan rescissions, which create a backdoor for presidents to try to claw back already-approved funding, putting critical programs at risk. Trump’s latest attempt, a so-called “pocket rescission,” would eliminate billions in funding for priorities like basic healthcare, education, clean water, housing, and fair wages.

“New Yorkers know what’s at stake when extremists in Washington play games with the budget: our schools, our healthcare, the safety of our food and water, and our families’ ability to afford basic needs,” said Eric Weltman, Senior Organizer with Food & Water Watch. “Senator Schumer must use his power to ensure that any spending bill includes protections against these partisan rescissions, and stand firm against Trump’s reckless cuts.”

The organizational letter emphasizes that rescissions are a backdoor way to force harmful cuts, disproportionately harming Black and underserved communities. It calls on Schumer to withhold support for any appropriations bill that fails to block this tactic.

“Senator Schumer and his Democratic colleagues in the Senate and House are the last available bulwark we have other than the courts against total domination by a President who has no regard for truth, democracy, or meeting the basic needs of Americans, including health care, housing, education and action on climate,” said Rebecca Garrard and Carolyn Martinez-Class, co-Executive Directors of Citizen Action of New York. “President Trump has shown he is willing to rescind funds that Congress has already appropriated, so unless Congress places guarantees against him doing it again, any budget agreed to won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on. Our members and millions of New Yorkers want Senator Schumer to stand firm and protect us against this criminal President and the Republicans who follow him in lock-step.”

“Republican cuts are making life less affordable and more precarious. If House Republicans try to pass MAGA spending cuts that were written in a partisan manner and that could be cut further on a partisan basis at any time, Senate Democrats must not give them bipartisan cover,” said Adam Ring, Coordinator for Indivisible Brooklyn. “We can’t afford another Schumer surrender.”

“People in Westchester are already struggling to protect our access to basic needs like healthcare, electricity, and clean water. Allowing Republican rescissions is a betrayal of the people Congress is meant to serve — especially Medicaid, Medicare, and food stamp recipients, who will lose critical benefits because of the Republicans’ big, bad bill,” said Deborah Porder of Indivisible Scarsdale. “We’re calling on Senator Schumer to stand up for all of us by protecting the funding we fought for and ensuring it cannot be clawed back through backdoor Republican maneuvers.”

“Senator Schumer and the Democratic Senate leadership should have the experience to take on the GOP in these procedural matters,” said Barry Nisman of Bend the Arc Jewish Action Long Island. “Communities of color, communities suffering the most from the dismantling of the social infrastructure of our country, which would include most of us, are expecting protection from the callous and unjust machinations of this Administration. Whether the GOP’s nefarious actions are out front or backdoor, we demand Democratic commitment to thwarting rescissions.”

In total, more than 200 national, state, and local organizations — including the American Civil Liberties Union, American Federation of Teachers, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Oxfam America, Center for Biological Diversity, Sunrise Movement, Indivisible, and Public Citizen — signed the letter.