Crockett Speaks Up for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Amid GOP Attacks on Life-Saving Benefits

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) releases the following statement as House Republicans look to further strip hardworking Americans of their ability to put food on the table:

“With COVID-era SNAP emergency benefits set to expire at the beginning of April, many working-class North Texas are already teetering on the edge of financial and food insecurity. Now House Republicans are threatening to push them off the edge. In 2023, Texas still has a minimum wage of just $7.25 per hour – one of the lowest in the country. Texas working families need SNAP to put food on the table, and I can’t stand by while wealthy lawmakers on the other side of the aisle try to take meals out of babies’ mouths.

“This bill would expand the number of people who have to show proof of work to access SNAP from age 49 to age 65. Folks in their 50s and 60s who may not be able to work will need to compete against younger workers in order to put food on the table. These changes are punitive and unnecessary – evidence shows that harsh work requirements result in only increase obesity and malnutrition, not work. House Democrats stand united in our defense of children, seniors, and the disabled, who disproportionately are the largest recipients of SNAP benefits. Any suggestion to the contrary is nonsense.

“I may be a Freshman, but I was educated before these Republican bans on teaching history, so I am able to learn from it: Republicans try this every Farm Bill, and it always fails. Nutrition & Farm Programs have to move together or there is no bill, just as Chairman Thompson says. SNAP has massive benefits, and passing this legislation would do massive harm.”

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Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett represents portions of Dallas and Tarrant Counties, with the cities of Dallas, Grand Prairie, DeSoto, Cedar Hill, Lancaster, Duncanville, Glenn Heights, Hutchins, Wilmer, Arlington, Ovilla, and Seagoville.