Now he cares: GOP senator fights to save food aid he helped slash under Trump

Republican US Sen. Josh Hawley is once again posing as the defender of a program he recently voted to cut.

On Wednesday, the Missouri senator introduced legislation that would fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the duration of the government shutdown as families across the country brace for benefit disruptions and cuts beginning as soon as November 1, potentially impacting more than 40 million people.

“Our kids deserve to eat,” Hawley said in a statement, blaming Democrats for the shutdown even as his party refuses to support an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, sending insurance premiums soaring.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told reporters this week that Democrats “want Americans to have healthcare and food.”

“The Republicans, evidently, don’t care whether they have either,” Warren added.

Hawley’s statement on the new legislation did not mention his support for President Donald Trump’s signature budget package, which included the largest SNAP cuts in US history, affecting millions across the nation—including many children.

The looming SNAP benefit cuts due to the government shutdown are set to compound the impacts of food aid cuts from the Trump-GOP budget law. The Trump administration is currently pressuring states to swiftly implement the law’s draconian SNAP changes, including more expansive work requirements.

Hawley’s new bill, titled the Keep SNAP Funded Act, marks the second time this year that the Missouri Republican has come to the defense of a program that he has helped attack. Just two weeks after helping pass the Trump-GOP budget package, which contains around $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade, Hawley unveiled legislation aimed at repealing some of those cuts.

The bill went nowhere in the Republican-controlled Senate.

It’s unclear whether Hawley’s SNAP legislation will suffer the same fate. The Republican senator said if GOP leaders don’t agree to bring it up for a vote, he intends to try to pass it via unanimous consent.

Dozens of states have said they have begun sending out notices informing SNAP recipients that they won’t receive benefits next month if the shutdown continues, and food pantries across the nation are preparing for a surge in demand.

Legislation like Hawley’s isn’t necessary to ensure that SNAP recipients continue receiving at least partial benefits as the shutdown drags on, experts at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) stressed earlier this week.

“Nearly two-thirds of the funds needed for a full month of benefits are available in SNAP’s contingency fund and must be used when regular funding for SNAP runs short,” wrote CBPP’s Dottie Rosenbaum and Katie Bergh. “The administration must release those funds immediately as SNAP law requires, to ensure that families can put food on the table next month.”

As of this writing, the Trump administration has made no indication it plans to release those funds.

This story was published in partnership with Common Dreams. Read the original story here.