Today, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02) andHouse Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) released the following statement concerning the Trump administration’s illegal move to withhold available Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in November:

“People across the country are struggling to make ends meet as the cost of groceries skyrockets. Secretary Rollins and Director Vought’s answer is to illegally freeze all funding for SNAP.

“Congress already provided billions of dollars to fund SNAP in November. It is the Trump administration that is taking food assistance away from 42 million Americans next month – including hungry seniors, veterans, and families with children. 

“This is perhaps the most cruel and unlawful offense the Trump administration has perpetrated yet – freezing funding already enacted into law to feed hungry Americans while he shovels tens of billions of dollars out the door to Argentina and into his ballroom. The president, his agriculture secretary, and his budget director need to stop playing politics with Americans struggling to afford food and release the SNAP funds that Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate overwhelmingly voted to provide.”

Public apportionment information shows SNAP has billions in the contingency fund. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has made it clear that these funds can be used during a lapse in appropriations. Additionally, the law funding SNAP is clear: