MAZON Statements

After the Republican-controlled White House and Congress were unable to come to an agreement to fund the federal government, a full shutdown began this morning that jeopardizes the food security of tens of millions of Americans struggling with hunger. MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger released the following statement on the eve of Yom Kippur expressing its dismay that the Trump administration continues to erode public trust in the government funding process, is illegally withholding Congressionally-approved resources from the American people, and is again failing to safeguard the needs of the most vulnerable.

MAZON President & CEO Abby J. Leibman stated:

“For nearly nine months, we have watched the White House and the Republican majority in Congress mismanage, misdirect, or eliminate funding for vital programs that meet the basic needs of millions of Americans. Now they have brought us to this: a federal government shutdown with no end in sight. A shutdown that risks the lives and livelihoods of so many Americans. It is devastating for millions of mothers and babies who utilize the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). This shutdown also means more stress and confusion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, who are still reeling from the largest cuts to the program in our nation’s history. It means furloughing valuable employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), who are already questioning their job security after deeply misguided and dangerous plans to shutter and relocate the agency’s offices. And it means yet again abandoning the more than 47 million Americans who struggle with food insecurity and utilize key government support programs to feed themselves and their families.

“There is no confusion about who, exactly, is fighting for those facing economic insecurity and hunger, despite rhetorical liberties taken by the Speaker of the House in misdescribing his party’s actions. We know exactly who is throwing the American people under the bus. Whatever claims he might be making now, the Speaker of the House pushed for this summer’s Republican budget cuts before sending his members home without passing a spending bill that could be reasonably signed into law. President Trump and Congressional Republicans have been pushing their dangerous and unpopular agenda from day one without any concern for the Americans they are hurting, and every step of the way, their actions have made life harder for millions of Americans facing hunger. This is just the latest example of their callous indifference and cruelty.

“This evening marks the beginning of Yom Kippur — the holiest day in Judaism. We are required to pause, reflect, and recommit to our highest values; to seek forgiveness for our transgressions and to live up to what we know are our best selves. And on the eve of this solemn day, we see the Republican leadership of our federal government turning their backs on all of us — living down to their worst instincts, eschewing the values they swore to uphold, punishing those trying to do right by the American people. What a disgrace.”