Democratic governors fear that President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill would result in more Americans going hungry.
Trump is pushing for the passage of his legislation by the Fourth of July, but it faces hurdles on Capitol Hill as the Senate is expected to work through the weekend in an attempt to meet his deadline.
One of the offsets Republicans are using to help pay to extend their tax cuts is shifting the cost of the food assistance program to the states.
But Democratic governors warned this week that they do not have the money to cover the difference, and the move could result in states leaving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that provides food benefits for low-income families.
More than 42 million people received SNAP benefits last year.
The parliamentarian ruled on Thursday that Republican tweaks to the Senate bill comply with the rules, allowing them to move forward with saving $41 billion in their tax legislation by shifting costs to states.
“Congressional Republicans have chosen to cut food assistance for millions of Americans to give tax breaks to billionaires,” claimed Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar. “Instead of working with Democrats to lower costs for Americans, Congressional Republicans are doubling down on shifting costs to states that they simply cannot bear.”
This week, 23 Democratic governors sent a letter to congressional leaders warning that shifting costs of the SNAP program to states could result in states having to leave the program entirely and cut off millions of Americans, including seniors and children from food assistance.
“Under this plan, states will need to find millions or even billions of extra dollars in their budgets or be forced to leave the SNAP program entirely, potentially cutting off millions of Americans from this vital assistance,” the governors wrote.
They warned that if states have to end their SNAP programs, not only will hunger increase, but grocery stores in rural areas could struggle to stay open, and local economies would suffer as the food industry cuts jobs.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly called it “total bunk” that states will be able to backfill massive cuts in federal resources and said point blank that her state “does not have the money to do that.”
“These are not cost shifts to states. These are cuts to critical programs that hundreds of thousands of Kansans rely on,” Kelly said Thursday.
Governors like Kentucky’s Andy Beshear, who is a Democrat in a red state with GOP senators, said he’s been communicating with lawmakers but blasted Republicans for taking actions that would hurt the very people who voted for them.
Advocacy groups like Feeding America and the Food Research and Action Center have also been pushing for lawmakers to reject the legislation.
But Senate Republicans have pushed back on accusations that the changes would result in Americans going hungry.
“This paves the way for important reforms that improve efficiency and management of SNAP while encouraging responsible use of taxpayer dollars,” Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman said in response to the provision being allowed in the bill.
He argued the approach encourages states to “prioritize the resources for those who truly need it.”
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