Congresswoman Suzan DelBene - Trump, GOP holding emergency SNAP funds over politics
Since the start of this year, congressional Republicans and President Trump have repeatedly advanced policies that have weakened and cut SNAP, taking food away from hungry families. The federal government shutdown is only the latest example.
Right now, Washington and other states only have enough money to pay SNAP benefits until the end of October. The Trump administration recently warned states that there would be “insufficient funds” to pay for the program as of November. Their claim simply isn’t true.
The federal government has enough money to cover most of the benefits for the next month in a contingency fund that was created by Congress for a moment just like this. The administration is fully able to release it right now. If President Trump does not fund SNAP for November, it’s a choice he is making.
But since the start of the Republican shutdown, the president has been deliberately withholding funding to punish Americans and individual states, primarily those that he perceives as not supporting him. He cut off more than $1 billion for energy and manufacturing projects in the Pacific Northwest. He illegally fired more than 4,000 federal workers who protect us from disease outbreaks, process our tax returns and support students with disabilities. Withholding food assistance funds is just the latest example and one that will impact people in every state across the country. It’s hard to see this as anything but intentionally causing harm.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-trump-gop-holding-emergency-snap-funds-over-politics/