In their quest to pay for their tax cuts for billionaires in the Big Billionaires First Bill, Mr. Trump and his Congressional Republican allies cut vital social services for millions of vulnerable Americans.
Food Stamps or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was one of them.
With onerous new work requirements, the removal of work exemptions, and a mandate to reduce the payment error rate, the resulting cuts, according to reporting from ProPublica, have moved almost half the people (over 400,000) enrolled in the SNAP program off the Arizona rolls.
180,000 of those people are children who now face potential starvation because Donald Trump and Republicans chose to deny them food security so billionaires can afford to get more caviar for parties on their yachts and Donald Trump can build ballrooms and monuments to himself.
Arizona is currently the leader among the 50 states in people being thrown off the food stamp rolls.
Donald Trump, in his Orwellian speak, boasts that “3.3 million people have been lifted off food stamps.”
Probably a safe bet that most of those 3.3 million do not share the Liar in Chief’s sentiment.
In a statement to ProPublica and the Blog for Arizona, Liliana Soto, Arizona Governor Katie Hobb’s Press Secretary, wrote:
“Washington Republicans took food out of the mouths of 400,000 Arizonans, including 180,000 children with their reckless and partisan Washington budget.
The chaos and confusion forced on states by the reckless legislation has increased bureaucracy and red tape on states across the country, and forced DES to take difficult steps to reduce the state’s Payment Error Rate.
If these actions weren’t taken, Arizona would put hundreds of millions of dollars in food assistance at risk, forcing even more families to lose access to their benefits.
Growing up, Governor Hobbs’ family sometimes relied on food stamps to get by.
She will continue fighting to protect Arizona families from the devastating policies forced on our state by Washington, DC.
Governor Hobbs is committed to minimizing the harm caused by these federal mandates. That’s why she immediately invested $7.5 million to add staff and resources to improve SNAP payment accuracy, streamline processes, and ensure families and workers receive assistance more quickly.”
Arizona Democratic Senate Leader Priya Sundareshan condemned what is happening to Arizona’s most vulnerable, commenting to Blog for Arizona:
“Taking millions of people off SNAP isn’t a success if they’re still hungry; it’s a crisis. What we’re seeing in Arizona is families losing access, not because they don’t qualify, but because the system is being made harder to navigate. Senate Democrats are fighting for an Arizona we can afford, where no child goes without food.”
Arizona House Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos blasted Trump and Republicans attack on the poor in a social media post, offering:
“Washington Republicans have kicked off hundreds of thousands of Arizonans — including children and veterans — from food assistance. Many will go hungry and skip meals. All to fund tax cuts for billionaires. Shameful.“
Democratic Assistant House Leader Nancy Gutierrez also posted:
“How does this help Arizona? Republicans are proud that AZ is kicking families off of SNAP. They don’t care about affordability; they don’t care about what’s really happening. They only care about Trump.”
Arizona Representative Adelita Grijalva issued a statement condemning Trump and Republican cruelty to Arizona and America’s most vulnerable, writing:
“The findings of this report are shocking. Because of the Republicans’ Big Ugly Law, more than 400,000 Arizonans – including 180,000 children – have been kicked off vital nutrition assistance. When Republicans say they are going after ‘waste, fraud, and abuse,’ let’s remember what that really means: children going hungry and families being pushed further into financial crisis. We are told there’s no money to feed our children, yet somehow, we can spend billions on another endless war abroad. It’s time to reverse these devastating cuts to food assistance and healthcare, and finally focus on lowering costs.”
Senator Ruben Gallego posted:
DCCC spokesperson Lindsay Reilly blamed Republican Congressmen Eli Crane and Juan Ciscomani, two representatives in battleground districts, for voting for the Big Billionaire’s First Bill that took away food from vulnerable Arizonans, saying in a statement:
“Juan Ciscomani and Eli Crane don’t care about hardworking Arizona families. Arizonans are feeling the pain of Crane and Ciscomani’s callous decisions every day. Voters will hold them both accountable at the ballot box.”
Copper State Victory spokesperson Nicholas Simões Machado went after Arizona Republican Gubernatorial Candidates Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, two other Congressmen who also voted for the food stamp cuts, writing:
“This new report shows the cost of Andy Biggs and David Schweikert’s partisan agenda to Arizonans: ripping food out of the hands of 180,000 children all to fund tax breaks for billionaires. From now until November, they owe Arizona families answers for raising costs and ripping away meals to please their party bosses in Washington.”
Ms. Soto is right. Throwing people off food stamp rolls is reckless.
Arizona Democratic Senate Leader Priya Sundareshan is right when she says this is a crisis and no Arizona child should go without food.
Arizona Democratic House Leader De Los Santos is right. Taking away children’s food security is shameful.
Arizona Assistant Democratic Leader Nancy Gutierrez is right. Republicans do not care about affordability and the families being kicked off SNAP.
Representative Grijalva is right when she points out Mr. Trump has money to fund a war of choice he seems to be losing rather than put food on the table for working class Americans.
Senator Gallego is right when he calls Trump’s policies an Anti-Worker Agenda.
At a time when Donald Trump and Washington and Arizona Republicans put billionaires over poor people, unplanned wars over funding daycare, Medicare, and Medicaid, and ballrooms and monuments to dear leader over an affordability agenda to lift everyone up, it is time for American voters, especially those who actually believed, despite the track record, that Trump was actually for them, to turn to the political party and candidates that do speak for the working and middle class and have a record and agenda to prove it.
The elections are in 208 days.
Make your voice heard and your vote count.
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