Show-Me State Times

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has written an opinion piece calling on Congress to act before federal food assistance benefits expire on November 1 due to the ongoing government shutdown, which has lasted 28 days.

Hawley warns that if Congress does not take action, about 42 million Americans will lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. He notes that this program is a vital support for those living at or below 130 percent of the poverty line, which is roughly $42,000 for a family of four.

“The government shutdown has already touched countless lives, and not for the better. Key services have been curtailed and hundreds of thousands of federal employees — from air traffic controllers to Capitol Police officers — are working without pay. But letting federal food assistance lapse would introduce an entirely new stage of suffering. The best solution would be to pass a clean funding bill to reopen the government in its entirety, but if that can’t be done, Congress at the very least needs to pass my bill to ensure food assistance continues uninterrupted,” Hawley writes.

He emphasizes that SNAP recipients include young parents, people with disabilities, families facing temporary job loss, workers experiencing hardship, and veterans—about 1.2 million of whom rely on SNAP.

Hawley also highlights rising costs: “What cost $100 five years ago costs $125 today. So if you’re not earning 25 percent more than you were five years ago, you’re getting poorer. That’s most families in America. And nowhere do they feel it more than at the grocery store.”

Citing letters from Missouri constituents who depend on SNAP benefits for basic groceries, Hawley stresses there is no justification for allowing these individuals to go hungry: “There is no reason any of these residents of my state — or any other American who qualifies for food assistance — should go hungry. We can afford to provide the help.”

He argues that providing food assistance represents only a small fraction of annual defense spending and calls on Congress to prioritize passing his legislation during the shutdown: “Congress can still pass legislation during a shutdown, and it should pass my bill to keep SNAP benefits going.”

Hawley concludes by urging lawmakers to uphold America’s tradition of helping those in need: “The character of a nation is revealed not in quarterly profits or C.E.O. pay, but in how it treats the small and forgotten — the last, the least, the lost.”