WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, today released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Agriculture‘s (USDA) rule, which would make harmful changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP):
“This rule could cause one million people to lose their food assistance, while doing nothing to help them find jobs. This Administration is out of touch with families who are struggling to make ends meet by working seasonal jobs or part time jobs with unreliable hours. Seasonal holiday workers, workers in Northern Michigan’s tourism industry, and workers with unreliable hours like waiters and waitresses are the kinds of workers hurt by this proposal. There’s a reason Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly rejected this callous proposal in the Farm Bill and instead focused on bipartisan job training opportunities that actually help families find good paying jobs.”
Congress considered and chose not to include similar changes to SNAP in the bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill. In fact, an amendment to SNAP was rejected by the House of Representatives by a vote of 83-330 in 2018. A similar amendment proposed in the Senate was rejected by a bipartisan vote of 68-30. After the rule was proposed, 47 Senators from both parties urged the Administration to withdrawal the rule.
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