Media

“After cutting SNAP by $186 billion earlier this year in the Big Ugly Bill, Donald Trump and his accomplices are now refusing to extend SNAP food assistance that millions of families rely upon to put food on the table. Adding a hunger crisis to their self-made health care crisis, Republicans’ government shutdown is placing an enormous strain on the Central Texas Food Bank and other community service groups as families turn to them for help. For every meal a food bank provides, SNAP can provide nine—leaving many still struggling to keep their children fed. This Administration can, and must, immediately use the billions in reserve funding available for SNAP. As in September, USDA asserted it would on page 15 of its shutdown plan, which stated that such funds could be used during a shutdown."

“With his complete federal control, Trump is now about to add a hunger crisis to the health care crisis he has created. Only he can stop these crises. Beginning on Monday and by the end of November, 3.7 million Texans, who rely on SNAP to put food on the table, will lose assistance. He could act immediately to prevent hunger by simply using his contingency funding and transfer authority—moving as quickly as he did to give Argentina a $40 billion bailout. To end this shutdown, he should immediately direct his Republican enablers to negotiate a bipartisan agreement with Democrats to stop enormous price spikes on health insurance premiums."

“As usual, Greg Abbott is an eager accomplice to Trump's wrongdoing. The illegal deployment of U.S. troops against U.S. citizens has never been about crime or immigration; Trump only wants to normalize the misuse of our military against his opponents. Having previously declared that ‘I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,’ Trump seeks a military personally loyal to him, not the Constitution—the kind of subservient military that any able dictator requires to stay in power.”

Washington, D.C.—With the beginning of this National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) announced $16,989,375 million in federal funds for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, “The Hotline,” based in Austin, to continue serving as the country’s designated crisis hotline to provide confidential and lifesaving support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

With complete federal government control, Republicans control this government shutdown. I do not believe we should yield to Trump’s demands without getting some protection for all those about to have their health care access to a physician denied or seriously impaired.