Today, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02) delivered the following opening statement at a full committee hearing titled "The Power of Work: Expanding Opportunity through SNAP." Watch the full hearing here.

Thank you, Chairman Thompson.

This hearing is coming at an important moment for the American people. This Committee has been asked to pass – and all my Republican colleagues have voted for – a House bill that would seek to cut up to $230 billion in funding from our jurisdiction to help pay for tax breaks for the President’s billionaire buddies like Elon Musk. So, I’m glad we’re here to talk about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – the likely target for those cuts.

But before we do that – let’s review the past 78 days. The Trump administration and Elon Musk have steamrolled this Congress – firing critical staff and slashing funding and programs that many of you voted for and support. They’ve started a global trade war that has put farmers in the crosshairs of retaliatory tariffs and are actively decimating retirement accounts across our nation while raising the cost of living for all Americans. They have willfully ignored USDA contracts with the farm community. Hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of food has been taken away from food banks and school cafeterias. All from programs this body put in place.

I really do like most of you – especially you Mr. Chairman. I ran for office because I want to work across the aisle. And I’d like to do that as ranking member. But not one of you would sit silent if a Democratic administration was steamrolling the United States Congress. Not one of you.

Instead of using this Committee to pass a five-year, bipartisan farm bill that provides certainty and stability for farmers and the food supply chain, you voted for a bill that instructs this Committee to cut a critical farm bill program by at least $230 billion to help pay for tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations.

If making families hungrier so the rich can get richer weren’t bad enough, cutting SNAP also cuts farm income for America’s family farmers. This cut would slash farm revenue by approximately $30 billion. On top of the markets they’re losing because of the dumbest trade war in history.

But we’re here to talk about work, so let’s talk about it. Where were Republicans when we wanted to make universal Pre-K and affordable child care the law of the land, so parents could go to work knowing their kids are taken care of? Where were Republicans when we wanted to raise the minimum wage in our country so folks don’t have to worry about whether they can pay the rent or feed their kids? Where were Republicans when Elon Musk fired the people making sure our food is safe to eat, our veterans receive health care and our kids get the support they need at school? Where were Republicans when the president started a global trade war that increases costs for working families and threatens to put farmers out of business?

Where are the so-called “pro-worker” Republicans that I heard so much about during the last election cycle? Silent.

You know who can’t afford us to sit silently? Farmers. Farmers wake up and bust their butts to feed, clothe and fuel our country every day. And the thanks they get are canceled USDA contracts and a SNAP cut that costs them $30 billion and jeopardizes a five-year farm bill.

So today, let’s talk about work. Let’s talk about the millions of hardworking Americans that depend on SNAP – despite sometimes having multiple jobs because they aren’t paid enough. Let’s talk about the over 200,000 people that could be out of a job if these cuts to SNAP succeed because this program is a job creator.

Because when you spend a dollar on food, you aren’t just paying for the food in your cart: You’re paying the wages of the clerk who checked you out at the grocery store, the trucker who delivered the food to the store and the manufacturer who made the food’s packaging. Every $1 invested in SNAP generates about $1.50 in economic activity, and cutting SNAP cuts jobs throughout the entire supply chain. You cannot support workers while decimating SNAP.

And let’s be crystal clear about what we are talking about here: $2 per meal. Just over $6 bucks a day. That’s the average SNAP benefit for an American in need. Cutting this program will increase food costs by $2,100 for a typical SNAP household of four. And that is before you add in the $4,000 per year that Trump’s tariffs will cost the average American.

This Committee has a choice before us: Do we want to make American families hungrier and farmers poorer so that a handful of billionaires can get richer? Or do we want to pass a bipartisan, five-year farm bill?

Finally, I want to thank our witnesses for being here today, although I must admit that choosing a witness from AEI – a think tank that has called for abolishing crop insurance – to testify here today is an interesting choice.

I yield back.