Budzinski Slams SNAP Cuts at House Agriculture Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) participated in a House Committee on Agriculture hearing where she criticized proposed cuts to SNAP benefits at a time when families are struggling with rising grocery costs. In Illinois’ 13th district, 55,000 households rely on SNAP. Like the rest of the country, the majority of those households are home to a child, a senior, or a disabled adult. 

The budget reconciliation framework passed by House Republicans includes a $230 billion cut to SNAP, which is predicted to increase food costs for a typical SNAP household of four by $175 a month. Furthermore, the Trump Administration’s universal tariffs are projected to cost American families upwards of $3,000 a year. 

WATCH: Budzinski Slams SNAP Cuts at House Agriculture Committee Hearing

Budzinski’s remarks as prepared for delivery can be found below:

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Craig, thank you for calling this hearing today. 

I think that this conversation is timely – what we are all hearing from our districts is that families are struggling.

They are struggling with higher costs at the grocery store, wondering if they will still have healthcare or if Title I schools will have the funding they need to operate.

And what I am having a hard time understanding is how talking about more burdensome regulations on SNAP or making cuts to the program to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and America’s largest corporations helps that problem.

Hard working Americans across the country have felt the squeeze at the grocery store over the past several years, starting with the pandemic.

And this administration isn’t prioritizing lowering costs to help families get by. 

Instead, the Trump administration’s reckless tariffs on some of our most established trading partners and allies are extremely alarming for American consumers.

We import around 60% of our fresh fruits and 40% of our fresh vegetables, many of which can’t be grown in the United States. 

Not to mention the many other products we import – coffee, olive oil, other pantry items. 

And the US imported nearly 45 billion dollars worth of meat and fish in 2023.

And we know that consumers will bear the costs of tariffs on these staples. No matter what some may claim – producers will NOT simply eat these costs. They WILL be passed on to the purchaser.

In fact, leading economists are projecting that this chaotic, unnecessary trade war will cost American families THOUSANDS of dollars per year.

The Yale Budget Lab shared an analysis that it could be upwards of $3000. Three Thousand.

For families who are living paycheck to paycheck, three thousand dollars a year is the difference in keeping your lights on. It allows you to go to the doctor when you’re sick. It allows you to start an emergency fund. It allows you to put food on the table for your children.

And we want to talk about cutting SNAP?

I seem to recall the President running on the promise of bringing down grocery costs for the American people – which I would love to see.

If he was taking real action to make life more affordable for folks – I would celebrate that.

But instead, we are watching him make decisions that are ballooning costs – including the cost to feed your family.

And now Congress wants to pull out the rug from under them.

That is unconscionable. In my district, over 55,000 households rely on SNAP. And like the rest of the country, the majority of those households are home to a child, a senior, or a disabled adult. 

And we would do well not to forget what this program looks like for families. 

The average benefit is around $6 per person, per day. 

One of my constituents shared a story with me about what SNAP means to her. Over 10 years ago, she benefitted from SNAP while attending nursing school as a single parent living in Section 8 housing.

SNAP meant she was able to put food on the table for her and her son.

Because of the burden that was relieved from her, she graduated and started a stable nursing career – even becoming a crisis nurse during covid. 

Another constituent of mine administers SNAP, and I’d like to quote her directly: 

“Some days it’s very hard to do my job, like when I see elderly individuals receiving Social Security Retirement/Disability who have worked all their life but are not eligible for significant SNAP because they are over the threshold. 

They are asking for help but not getting what they need. Some of our most vulnerable clients must choose between medicine and food.”

When we talk about SNAP beneficiaries – we are talking about hard working Americans like them, who just need a little help to get by.

And that is something we should celebrate – not demonize. 

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