Assistant Minority Leader Neguse Denounces Trump Administration’s Refusal to Release Emergency SNAP Funding
“It is outrageous that the Trump administration can come up with $40 billion to bail out Argentina — and refuses to spend the money that Congress has appropriated to feed hungry families in America.”
Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse, Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig, and Representatives Budzinski, Carbajal, Brown, Stansbury, and Adams hosted a press conference on the Trump administration’s suspension of November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Trump’s Department of Agriculture, led by Secretary Brooke Rollins, is sitting on congressionally appropriated funds and has the authority to use them as a contingency. Instead, they’ve refused to release the money—cutting off support for 42 million people, including 16 million children, 8 million seniors, and 4 million people with disabilities.
NEGUSE: Thank you for being here first and foremost — for showing up. As you can see, I'm joined today by my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus — who are showing up. The only people missing apparently here in Washington are House Republicans. They are on week six. Week six — hard to believe — of their paid vacation. They refuse to reopen the House, while families go hungry. While civil servants across our country are furloughed, House Republicans are missing in action. It is shameful. And it should offend every American, the way in which House Republicans have debased the Article I branch of our government. They have an obligation to be here with us to work in good faith to reopen the government.
Now, that is the backdrop to the topic that has brought us together this morning, which is that the Trump administration has made a conscious and deliberate choice to suspend SNAP benefits. They've done so, notwithstanding, as you'll hear from Ranking Member Craig and the tremendous leaders who joined me today, that the funds are sitting in a contingency account. Over $5 billion available today, that could be used, that must be used under the law so that hungry families don't starve.
And for my Republican colleagues, who suggest all sorts of fanciful rationales for why the administration has been unwilling to do so. I would just simply say it is outrageous that the Trump administration can come up with $40 billion to bail out Argentina — and refuses to spend the money that Congress has appropriated to feed hungry families in America. Outrageous. And House Democrats won't stand for it.
The full press conference can be viewed HERE courtesy of C-SPAN.
It is available for download HERE.
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