Luján, Welch, Klobuchar, Wyden, Merkley, Oregon Governor Kotek Fight Back Against Republicans’ Attack on SNAP, Nutrition Programs

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee Subcommittee on Nutrition and Specialty Crops, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, and nutrition advocates hosted a press call on Republicans’ efforts to gut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a critical anti-hunger program that helps more than 41.6 million Americans.  

Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the House Agriculture Committee held a markup on the Republican tax bill, which will cut $290 billion in SNAP benefits.

“Something that we all know to be true is everyone deserves to have access to affordable, healthy, nutritious food, and make sure it’s on the table. In my state, 1 in 4 people rely on SNAP, many of whom are children. If this program is cut at that level, it devastates it,” said Senator Luján. “Republicans are not looking out for their constituents who depend on federal programs—they’re looking out for the wealthiest Americans and corporate interests, plain and simple.” 

“We’re at the moment of truth—it’s the time for action and no longer just talk. Here’s the truth: Republicans’ plan is about taking things away from people who need them and depend on them. In Vermont, about 1 in 10 Vermonters are receiving SNAP benefits. And that is our poorest Vermonters, low-income folks, kids—it makes a huge difference in their life that they can have access to SNAP,” said Senator Welch. “Now, our Republican colleagues are talking about taking about $290 billion out of the SNAP program. This is really about taking away basic nutritional security that is so absolutely essential to the wellbeing of our families and our kids in Vermont and in every single state across the nation.” 

“Instead of working with Democrats to lower costs from President Trump’s across-the-board tariffs, House Republicans have decided to pull the rug out from under families by cutting the SNAP benefits that 42 million Americans rely on to put food on the table – all to fund a tax cut for billionaires. That’s shameful,” said Ranking Member Klobuchar. 

“The combination of less food assistance for seniors and kids and Republican cuts in Medicaid is a prescription for a sicker America. This is health care 101: you need access to food to be healthy, and you need access to timely health care when you’re ill. Under the Republican program, more people are going to get sicker,” said Senator Wyden. “We are all in on this battle—we’ll be damned if we’re going to see access to nutrition and health care lost in order to give tax breaks to people at the top.” 

“This Republican reconciliation bill is clear: families lose, billionaires win,” said Senator Merkley. “Millions of children will lose health care and go hungry—there’s a good chance that lots of kids won’t even be able to study in school. Nobody learns anything when they’re hungry. It’s pretty outrageous—we need to say, ‘hell no’ to this.” 

“SNAP is one of the most effective anti-poverty and pro-health programs we have in America. It helps over 700,000 Oregonians, more than half of them children, seniors, or people with disabilities, put food on the table. When you cut SNAP, you’re not cutting bureaucracy—you’re cutting a child’s breakfast, their dinner, and their family’s dignity,” said Governor Tina Kotek. “These changes are not just unsustainable cost shift to states – they are an attack on the food security of millions of hard-working Americans. They make it harder for states like mine to do our jobs, to meet urgent needs, and to plan responsibly. Instead of this shortsighted plan, we need to invest in American families and the food security that we know strengthens communities, supports our economies, and reflects the basic decency we owe one another.” 

In Congress, Senator Luján has long fought to protect and improve SNAP, leading legislation to protect local grocers from transaction fees that would make it harder for them to accept SNAP benefits, championing legislation that would support merit staff and protect SNAP integrity, and fighting to protect access to SNAP in the Farm Bill.

Watch a livestream of the press call here. 

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