MAZON Slams Senate Reconciliation Text as Dangerous Assault on Food Assistance Programs
Following the release of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry’s budget reconciliation text that would slash hundreds of billions from food assistance programs and leave millions of Americans struggling in hunger, national advocates from MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger slammed the proposal as another dangerous step towards the dismantling of SNAP and other critical basic needs programs in America.
MAZON President & CEO Abby J. Leibman stated:
“This is a stunning retreat from the values that all people of faith and good conscience hold as Americans, and the political games that Senate Republicans are playing would be tiring if they weren’t so dangerous. By sliding around a few numbers and making arbitrary changes to the House-passed bill, Senate Republicans are more than happy to slap their House colleagues on the back and pretend they’re making compromises. But where you might expect a federal budget bill to be negotiated by both parties, that just isn’t the case here. This is nothing more than a Republican caucus bill.
“Just because this Senate proposal makes meaningless tweaks to the extreme bill passed by the House of Representatives, that doesn’t mean that this proposal is any less devastating. This proposal would be the biggest cut to food assistance in the history of the program. It will drive millions into poverty and hunger. And it is nothing less than a full-throated assault on all working parents, with no acknowledgement of the unique needs of single mothers, veterans, college students, and others who are too often dependent on these programs and will find themselves severely suffering as a result of these draconian cuts and work requirements.
“Senate Republicans want us to believe that this is a reasonable bill, that they are taking steps to moderate the extreme budget that came out of the House. But we aren’t fooled, and neither should be the American people. This, too, is an extreme and dangerous proposal, and it’s one that must be stopped where it stands.”
Over the past month, MAZON has gathered quotes from a number of religious leaders and heads of faith-based organizations, all speaking out against cutting basic needs programs relied upon by millions of low-income Americans. Those quotes, which unite leaders from Jewish, Christian, Catholic, Hindu, Quaker, and other interfaith groups alike, can be found here.
Additionally, MAZON spearheaded, alongside the National Council of Jewish Women and the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies, a letter signed by nearly 200 Jewish organizations nationwide expressing strong opposition to these dangerous proposals in Congress. The letter, which demonstrates the breadth and depth of the national Jewish community’s commitment to fighting hunger, was sent to leaders of the House Committee on Agriculture; Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; House Committee on Energy and Commerce; and Senate Committee on Finance.
To learn more about SNAP and why it is so critical to millions of Americans, visit https://mazon.org/priorities/snap/.