Mass. Rep. Auchincloss: Trump can break the standoff over SNAP benefits
With food benefits for more than 1 million Bay State residents set to run out within days, a Massachusetts lawmaker says President Donald Trump can break a standoff over government funding for the program.
If he wants to, that is.
“If the president treats it as an issue that affects American children and not as a, quote, Democrat program,” then there’s room to preserve the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss told WCVB-TV’s “On the Record” program on Sunday.
Trump “has been saying that if this shutdown continues, ‘I’m going to cut Democrat programs,’” Auchincloss, D-4th District, said. “Well, two-thirds of SNAP recipients are families with children. This isn’t a Democrat program. This is a program that makes sure that kids go to school with full bellies.”
With the staring contest over federal government funding dragging into its fourth week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture posted a notice on its website stating that federal food aid will not be distributed, starting Nov. 1.
The agency blamed congressional Democrats for choking off the program, formerly referred to as “food stamps.”
“Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the ‘food stamp’ program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the unsigned message posted on the USDA’s official website reads.
“At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance,” the notice concludes.
Speaking to WCVB-TV on Sunday, Auchincloss, of Newton, said that if Trump recognizes the critical nature of the federal program, “then absolutely, we can get SNAP funded.“
“We can get the full government funded,” he continued. “If he, you know, would rather focus on his meme coins and East Wing demolition over the needs of American families, then we’re going to be stuck at this impasse.”
During an event in Roxbury last week, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said that neither the state nor service providers can backfill the loss of federal money.
“I talk to governors all around the country – no state can backfill what is supposed to come from the federal government to families across America, and this is very challenging. Very, very challenging," Healey said, according to State House News Service.
Massachusetts receives about $240 million monthly for SNAP benefits, Healey said. She said other presidents have made decisions to keep SNAP benefits going during past government shutdowns. She called on Trump to do the same, the wire service reported.
Democrats have dug in on health care-related issues, pressing for the extension of special Affordable Care Act tax subsidies that are set to expire at year’s end. They’re also seeking restoration of Medicaid funding that was slashed in the domestic policy mega-bill that Trump signed into law earlier this year.
The Hill reported Sunday that Republicans who control the U.S. Senate may “blow up” the filibuster, or the 60-vote threshold that’s needed to pass legislation.
“This would be the ultimate nuclear option, toppling the last major hurdle to single-party rule in Washington,” Nancy Jacobson, an opinion contributor, wrote.
The House-approved funding bills that previously failed in the Senate would have advanced if they had been passed by a simple majority.
Auchincloss told WCVB-TV on Sunday that lawmakers are feeling the urgency of the moment. The majority-Republican House has been out of session for weeks as the impasse has continued
“The urgency is there, at least on, on my side. I was in Washington last week. I’m going to be in Washington this week to make clear to [U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson] that he needs to bring the House back into session,” Auchincloss told the station.
Johnson “needs to swear in our new congresswoman from Arizona [U.S Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva], and we need to get back to work because we can’t be sitting on the sidelines while we run the risk of air traffic controllers, of SNAP benefits, of home heating programs not being there for Americans who are going into the holiday season,” Auchincloss said.
By: John Micek
Source: Mass Live