Merkley Decries Trump Decision to Cut 3 Million Americans Off of Food Stamps

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, released the following statement after the Trump administration announced that they would attempt to put in place a new policy that would kick an estimated 3 million Americans off of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps or SNAP:

“Imagine going without dinner so your son or daughter can eat.  Or cutting out any fruits and vegetables because they’re too expensive.  Thanks to the Trump administration, 3 million Americans will face those kinds of awful choices instead of imagining them. This proposal will literally take food off the tables of children, working families, seniors, and people with disabilities.

“Less than two years ago, President Trump gave $2 trillion to the wealthiest individuals and most powerful corporations in this country—and now he’s telling Americans that we’re going to take food out of children’s mouths to save money? That’s not credible and not acceptable. In the wealthiest country on earth, we can afford to make sure that no child goes to bed hungry at night. I will keep fighting with everything I have to push back on destructive decisions like these and to make sure that every family in America can keep food on their tables each day.”

The Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee oversees the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the SNAP program nationwide.

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