While Rep. Lawler Tries to Take A Victory Lap, Families in the Hudson Valley are Still at Risk of Going Hungry

Rep. Lawler’s Vote to Cut SNAP Assistance Continues to Cost His Constituents

NEW YORK — The House of Representatives has just voted to end the 43-day government shutdown that threatened the food security of thousands of families throughout the Hudson Valley. While Congressman Lawler is attempting to take a victory lap, blaming Democrats for the lapse in SNAP benefits, his claims are difficult to take seriously given his vote earlier this year to slash funding for the food assistance program that more than 66,000 of his constituents rely on.

This July, Rep. Lawler helped to pass the Republican Tax Law, which extended tax breaks for the wealthy, slashed almost $1 trillion in Medicaid funding, and cut nearly $200 billion from SNAP. These cuts have placed onerous new hurdles in the path of the 2.9 million New Yorkers trying to access their SNAP benefits, forcing thousands off the program that had helped them put food on the table.

“Congressman Lawler has a lot of nerve trying to place the blame for this crisis at anyone’s feet but his own,” said Mary, a former SNAP recipient from Peekskill. “The vote he took this summer put tons of new hurdles in place that make it so much harder for people like me to access their benefits. I relied on SNAP for 5 years; it helped me afford the rising cost of groceries while on a fixed income. Thanks to Mike Lawler, my SNAP status has been thrown into limbo as I try to navigate all the new bureaucratic hurdles. My need hasn’t changed, I’m still struggling just as much to put food on the table, but now I have to do so without the benefits that made it possible.”

The government shut down because Congressman Mike Lawler and House Republicans refused to extend key health care tax credits that allow thousands of families in the Hudson Valley to afford their insurance premiums. Now, as the government reopens, Rep. Lawler continues to oppose a real solution to the health care affordability crisis.

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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.