Today, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02), Vice Ranking Member Shontel Brown (OH-11), Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee Ranking Member Jahana Hayes (CT-05) and Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) were joined by farmers, veterans and parents to speak out against the Republican plan to cut $230 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which will take food away from seniors, children and veterans while reducing demand for the food America’s farmers grow.

“Slashing $230 billion from SNAP will take food away from seniors, children, veterans and people with disabilities when costs are already too high. These cuts also drive a stake into the heart of the farm economy. A cut of this size would take $30 billion in revenue away from family farmers who grow our food. We should be making SNAP work better, not making cuts that harm innocent people,” said Ranking Member Craig.

“The radical Republican reconciliation bill calls for billions in cuts to SNAP. It’s bad for families, bad for farmers and bad for the country. Increasing hunger to make billionaires richer is just plain wrong. I’m proud to join Ranking Member Craig and my colleagues on the Agriculture Committee in fighting for the millions of Americans who rely on SNAP, including one-in-five households in my district,” said Vice Ranking Member Brown.

“House Democrats are standing strong to protect SNAP and make sure there is no reduction or loss of benefits to families who rely on them. We are trying to amplify and make sure that the American people understand there is no way to get to $230 billion without drastically cutting SNAP. This is a non-starter for us. We stand ready and willing to come to the table to work with our Republican counterparts to produce a farm bill that helps farmers and families and all Americans, all of the things that we have been able to do time and time again. But doing that at the expense of the American people, of hungry children, of American households and livelihoods, is a non-starter,” said Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee Ranking Member Hayes.

“Cutting SNAP isn’t just a hit to the most vulnerable in our society – it’s a hit to the heart of our rural economies. It's a blow to grocery stores, to truck drivers, to everyone who is a part of this food system. And it’s going to hurt our farmers, who are already operating on razor-thin margins and experiencing increasing uncertainty in the markets,” said Congresswoman Budzinski.

Other speakers at the press conference included mother and Army veteran Yolanda M. Gordon of South Carolina, farmer Carah Ronan of Montana, mother and student Meghan Hullinger of West Virginia and farmer Kat Becker of Wisconsin.

Representatives Alma Adams (NC-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), April McClain Delaney (MD-06) and Salud Carbajal (CA-24) attended the press conference in solidarity with America’s hungry families and farmers.

Watch the press conference here. View photos of the event here.