Press Releases

WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Ranking Member of the Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee, issued the following statement after the passage of the House Committee on Agriculture budget which cuts $313 billion from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) to fund tax breaks for billionaires.

The House Republican budget resolution (H.Con.Res.14) instructed the House Agriculture Committee to cut a minimum of $230 billion from programs under its jurisdiction, with cuts anticipated to fall entirely under the Nutrition Title, specifically SNAP, which is widely recognized as the most effective anti-poverty initiative in the country. However, the Republican majority on the Committee increased the overall cuts to $313 billion. Additionally, the proposed methods for achieving these cuts include unprecedented state cost-sharing requirements for SNAP, significantly expanding restrictive work requirements, and freezing future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan, which determines benefit levels. These changes are projected to substantially reduce food assistance from vulnerable families and have significant negative consequences across the food supply chain and U.S. agricultural sector.

“The passage of this Republican reconciliation bill, with text we received just 24 hours before the markup began, confirms that hunger is a policy choice. This rushed, partisan process has yielded a devastating bill. For six years on this committee, I have seen attempts to take food from hungry children and families. This bill goes further, effectively redefining minors by imposing harsh work requirements on parents of children as young as seven—a cruel policy that seeks to take food away from children.

“The Republican budget bill achieves these cuts by imposing untested state cost-sharing and increasing work requirements for parents of children over seven, and older Americans up to age sixty-five. It brings back a Republican proposal to freeze updates to the Thrifty Food Plan, which lifted millions of Americans out of poverty when revised in 2021. These cuts hurt families, putting 4 million children between seven and seventeen at greater risk of food insecurity. It is unconscionable that we are effectively debating whether a seven-year-old, with no control over the situation of their family, deserves food assistance, not just at home, but also potentially at school and during the summer, as other nutrition programs tied to SNAP are impacted.

“SNAP not only helps feed families, but the program also provides economic certainty to retailers, distributors, truckers, and farmers. In Connecticut, 2,500 retailers risk losing revenue due to decreased purchasing from SNAP participants.

“I also offered an amendment to increase federal support for SNAP administrators, a crucial workforce preventing fraud and ensuring families receive benefits. Unfortunately, the Republican majority voted down both amendments.

“Democrats submitted 78 amendments for consideration, none of which were adopted as part of the final bill. In fact, Republicans abruptly suspended debate, with 44 Democratic amendments left. As a result, I was not able to offer my amendments to improve benefits for disabled veterans, evaluation of SNAP benefits under the Thrifty Food Plan or the elimination of a Republican prohibition on counting internet utility expenses towards household income allotments for SNAP.

“I did not come to Congress to take food out of the mouths of hungry children. I voted no along with all Democrats on the Committee. It is my hope Republicans will come back to the table and work with Democrats to advance legislation which supports all Americans, not just the wealthy and powerful.”

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