Military families struggling with food insecurity could be among the potentially millions of people who lose food assistance under sweeping cuts to the benefits being advanced by House Republicans, advocates are warning.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as Republicans are now calling their wide-ranging legislation to enact President Donald Trump's agenda, would cut federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. States would be tasked with making up the difference in funding, but states with budget constraints could need to make drastic cuts to the program that leave millions without benefits.

Republicans maintain the changes are necessary to put SNAP more in line with other benefits programs and ensure states aren't giving out benefits to people who shouldn't be eligible. But anti-hunger advocates say the changes would devastate the program, and military family advocates say that service members are sure to be among those hurt.

"I don't think military families have been specifically singled out in [the bill], but we are concerned about the impact this will have both on those families who are currently receiving SNAP benefits and on the larger effort to expand benefits so more families who are struggling can get help," said Eileen Huck, acting director of government relations at the National Military Family Association.

"We Will Not Be Silent," read one sign.

"Our Education Is Not a Threat," read another.

Both messages were lofted by high school students, part of a group of roughly 100 who had walked out of their high school in Germany this month to protest books being banned and class courses being scrapped.

At a public school, the protest might have led to a detention and maybe some revoked after-school privileges. But on a military base, the students were putting more on the line. The same officials in charge of their Department of Defense-run school also had authority over their parents' careers and status in the military.

"I knew my risk, but I was comfortable making the decision to do it because of what I felt was right," said one of the students, a junior who spoke to Military.com on condition of anonymity for fear of punishment -- such as losing their family's Status of Forces Agreement sponsorship.

The students' daily lives, as well as those of their families, are directly and deeply shaped by Pentagon orders and the U.S. government's funding.

Since President Donald Trump took office again in January, a flurry of White House dictums have caused widespread confusion at military bases stateside and abroad, affecting everything from books in the library and classroom lessons to potential staffing at child day care centers and hiring freezes for jobs that military spouses rely on to supplement their service members' income.

Parents say those changes, often driven by political decisions in Washington, are harming their family lives and are ultimately dangerous to military readiness and even future recruitment of their children, who historically make up one of the most fertile grounds for the services to reap.

Military.com spoke to more than seven parents and students about the sudden changes for military families. Those who requested anonymity due to concern about potential retribution against them or their family members were granted it by the publication.

"Every day, there's always something new that happens, and it's just surprising," the junior said. "But I know there's nothing I can physically do about my situation, except for when I'm able to vote at the midterm. Overall, there's just kind of just anxiousness if we're even going to be able to stay here, or if my friend's parents are getting fired and they have to leave."

Walkouts have happened at Defense Department schools in Japan, South Korea and Germany.