McCollum: Democrats Working to Feed Families this Holiday Season

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) visited the Hallie Q. Brown food shelf today and lauded Governor Walz’s decision to distribute $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds to seven food banks in Minnesota ahead of the holiday season:

“I commend the Hallie Q. Brown Food Shelf and Second Harvest Heartland for their commitment to ending hunger in our community. Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan understand the need is great, and I thank them for announcing that $5 million in American Rescue Plan funds will be distributed to local food banks to help families keep food on the table as we head into winter and the holiday season. These funds were approved by the Democratic House in 2021 to meet the growing need for nutrition assistance in our communities. Rather than continue these investments, House Republicans have proposed funding bills this year that would make drastic cuts, which would take food away from children and families who need it most. These deep Republican cuts are a devastating break from decades of bipartisan precedent of supporting efforts to eliminate hunger in America. Democrats in Congress worked with President Biden to enact the American Rescue Plan to deliver for Minnesota, and we will continue to focus on meeting the needs of the American people.”

Background:

House Republicans’ Appropriations Bills would have devastating impacts across America, including in Minnesota.

Republicans’ FY 24 Agriculture Appropriations bill would make deep funding cuts to food assistance programs:

• Cuts the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC):
  • $300 million below the President’s Request
  • Included a $500 million rescission to WIC
  • Cuts the fresh fruit and vegetable cash voucher program by $1.2 billion
• Cuts Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) budget by $50 million, which negatively impacts its ability to administer SNAP, WIC, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations

In addition to the agency and grant funding:

• Republicans failed to advance their FY24 Ag Appropriations bill in September because of the extreme cuts included in the bill.
• The passage of the Continuing Resolution on November 14 included a 1-year extension of the Farm Bill; Republicans still have not released a draft of the bill.
• The administration requested a supplement/anomaly for WIC that House Republicans refused to include in the continuing resolution. WIC has seen increased participation rates, and so they requested an additional $405 million to meet that demand. Without these additional funds, states are soon going to have to either halt new enrollment or scale back benefits for enrollees.

Republicans’ FY 24 Labor, Health, Human Services, and Education bill would make deep funding cuts to nutrition services like Meals on Wheels, which would be cut for more than 1 million seniors. For some, these services provide their only meal of the day.

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