Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly accuses the Trump administration of letting people suffer the loss of SNAP benefits to pressure Democrats to back off on health care demands.
The ongoing federal shutdown has lasted for about a month, and lawmakers seem no closer to reaching an agreement.
Democrats refuse to move forward on reopening the government until Affordable Care Act subsidies are extended to ensure people’s premiums don’t go up.
But, on Saturday, open enrollment starts under the ACA and SNAP benefits will run out.
Kelly said the whole situation is unnecessary, arguing President Donald Trump is using the loss of SNAP as leverage, even though he has the power to keep the program funded.
“It's also really mean to put people in this situation,” Kelly said. “It's really kind of horrible when you think about it. I mean, the money is there. He doesn't have to do this, he’s choosing to.”
Kelly is referring to a contingency fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture has, which the agency says it will not use to backfill the loss of SNAP benefits for Americans.
“We’re fighting for the American people to make sure things are affordable for them, specifically in this case their healthcare, and my Republican colleagues are fighting for billionaires and millionaires to make sure they get their tax cut,” Kelly said.
He urged Trump to join ongoing negotiations.
“He [Trump] has said he doesn't want these premiums to go up for people. He has said that. So what's the problem? He wants to reopen the government. He doesn't want premiums to rise dramatically. We want the same thing. Why don't we all get in a room and sort this out? We could sort it out in a day,” Kelly said.
He said the president isn’t usually a necessary part of congressional negotiations, but in this case, Republicans don’t seem to take action unless Trump instructs them to.
Arizona is braced for SNAP to end this week, but Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has said repeatedly that the state doesn’t have the resources to backfill the $156 million per month the program provides to hundreds of thousands of Arizonans.
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