Thursday 1/10
Trump is threatening his shutdown could last “months” or even “years”. If this continues even a few more weeks, we will see hunger in this country skyrocket. The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) will run short on funds, as will school meals. Nutrition aid for women, infants and children (WIC) has already run out of money. On Tuesday, Trump’s USDA announced that it had scrambled to be able to pay for February SNAP benefits. There hasn’t been any word on March, and SNAP will end altogether if the shutdown continues on.
“Minnesota also is trying to get a handle on how long its state agencies can operate without federal dollars. Myron Frans, the commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget, said his state has contingency plans for short-term shutdowns that last for days, but not months.
“Those people need that money,” Frans said of the Minnesotans who depend on federally funded programs. “What do we do? How do we plan to help these people when payments get cut off?”
The Food and Drug Administration inspects 80% of the U.S. food supply, but as the shutdown continues on, the FDA has suspended all routine inspections of domestic food processing-facilities. An increase in foodborne illnesses could be on the rise.
““The government shutdown that President Trump has proudly taken credit for is having a painful impact on over 800,000 federal workers’ paychecks, our national parks, food safety, low-income families, our system of regulatory safeguards and enforcement, and much more,” said Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs at Public Citizen.
All those effects could wear down consumer and business confidence, further cutting into the economy's momentum.”
“The Democratic-led House approved a bill Wednesday to reopen the Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service and Small Business Administration, among other federal agencies.
The chamber voted 240-188 to advance the measure, with eight Republicans bucking party lines to back the bill, which is the first of four bills expected to be brought to the floor by Democrats.”
Continue to thank our Senators and DFL MoC for keeping this shutdown a priority. If your MoC is GOP, keep the pressure on them.
Yesterday Betty McCollum introduced the Health Care for All (H.J. Res. 17) constitutional amendment guaranteeing universal healthcare for everyone.
Thanks to Congressman Dean Phillips for cosponsoring HR 8, requiring universal background checks on all gun sales. Tell your MoC to cosponsor this bill.
Here’s a look at what is happening at the state level. The DFL has unveiled the “Minnesota Values Agenda”.
Check out Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s schedule for the House of Representatives https://www.majorityleader.gov/floor-res…/the-weekly-leader…
Klobuchar-202-224-3244
Smith (202) 224-5641
House of Representative switchboard: (202) 224-3121
MN Legislators: https://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/legislators
Resistbot: https://resistbot.io/
Governor Walz https://mn.gov/governor/
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