Hickenlooper on social media: “The President is using kids and families as leverage instead of working with Democrats to solve the health care crisis and reopen the government.”
Hickenlooper to donate his Senate salary during shutdown to Colorado food banks
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper joined 46 of his Senate colleagues to urge U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to release billions of dollars in funding to ensure Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits continue in November.
“We were deeply disturbed to hear that the USDA has instructed states to stop processing SNAP benefits for November… Americans are already struggling with the rising cost of groceries, and they cannot afford a sudden lapse in grocery assistance,” wrote the senators. “Any halt in SNAP funding will have devastating impacts for program beneficiaries, increasing food insecurity and undermining family budgets. Given the critical importance of SNAP benefits, the USDA must take all steps possible to ensure that families do not go hungry.”
In Colorado alone, over 600,000 people are at risk of losing their SNAP benefits if USDA does not utilize available funding to continue the program. The majority of SNAP recipients in Colorado are families with children.
This latest attack on food assistance comes after President Trump signed the Republican-led budget bill into law earlier this summer, which cut billions from SNAP.
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Hickenlooper released a social media video detailing what this decision to stop processing SNAP benefits for November means for the State of Colorado.
“Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress. And they’re about to let millions of Americans go hungry,” Hickenlooper said in the video. “Between his cuts to clean energy funding and stripping 15 million Americans of their health insurance, Trump is using the shutdown as an excuse to hurt working families even more.”
Hickenlooper continued: “Enough is enough. Let’s reopen the government, restore SNAP benefits, and make health care more affordable for Americans.”
Hickenlooper will continue to reject Republican-led continuing resolutions until Republicans work to lower costs and restore Americans’ health care.
During the government shutdown, Hickenlooper will donate his Senate pay to Food Bank of the Rockies, which serves communities across Colorado.
Read the full letter HERE.
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