5 DAYS Since SNAP Funding Lapsed…Where is Mike Lawler?

66,000 New Yorkers in the 17th Congressional District Are At Risk of Going Hungry

NEW YORK — Today marks the fifth day since funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) lapsed amid the government shutdown, which is now in its second month. Because Congressman Mike Lawler and Republicans in Congress have been unwilling to come to the table and negotiate a deal to reopen the government, working families across New York are now at risk of going hungry as critical food assistance dries up.

2.9 million New Yorkers rely on SNAP assistance to put food on the table each month, including more than 66,000 residents of New York’s 17th congressional district. Though a court order has forced the administration to distribute emergency funds, the fear and uncertainty have continued as President Trump uses the program as a bargaining chip, holding thousands of New York families hostage in the process.

It begs the question: Why isn’t Congressman Lawler pressuring the administration to fully fund food assistance benefits? Is it because he already voted for the largest cuts to SNAP in history?

“The fact that Congressman Lawler is willing to let this administration hold people’s benefits hostage, threatening to force seniors, children, and disabled New Yorkers to go hungry, is absolutely disgusting,” said Zach, a disability services provider from Brewster. “Over 25% of SNAP recipients are disabled, and many of their caretakers also rely on food assistance and other benefits. Our Representatives in Washington are supposed to fight to make their lives better, not hold their feet to the fire and use them as political pawns. The people of the Hudson Valley deserve better—they deserve to put food on the table and not worry where their next meal is going to come from. Rep. Lawler needs to sit down at the negotiating table and make a deal to reopen the government so that his constituents can get the benefits they depend on.”

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About Empire State Voices 

Empire State Voices (ESV) is a multi-year campaign dedicated to amplifying the voices of everyday working New Yorkers. ESV is fighting for economic policies that make life more affordable for constituents and holding members of Congress across the state accountable when they fail to do the same.