Starting tomorrow, November 1, more than 40 million Americans may lose food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). At the same time, healthcare costs for millions will skyrocket.
That means that children across the country would go to bed hungry and families will be thrown off their healthcare plans — for no reason at all.
Funding for SNAP is set to expire tomorrow.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is sitting on billions of dollars of contingency funding to maintain SNAP benefits through November. This money was appropriated by Congress to ensure SNAP benefits would continue in the event of a prolonged shutdown.
The Trump administration could stop millions of kids from going hungry. They simply refused to do so. Just this afternoon, a court ruled that the administration must use this funding.
Also starting tomorrow, millions of people will begin shopping for their health insurance plans, only to find that their premiums have surged. For many, insurance will become unaffordable, meaning they will be forced to go without healthcare.
Subsidies under the Affordable Care Act are set to expire, and the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have refused to extend them. This is the primary issue behind the ongoing shutdown.
Let’s take a step back. As FCNL’s Bridget Moix said earlier this month, the United States is facing another “moment of moral reckoning.”
In the wealthiest nation in the world, all people – all children – should have enough food to eat.
All people should be able to receive the healthcare that they need.
All people should be able to live lives of dignity and joy.
All people should be able to thrive and fulfill their potential.
What kind of country do we want to be? With the basic dignity of so many people on the line, that is the question our leaders in Washington need to answer right now.
Elsewhere
We can’t risk a nuclear arms race
In a strange social media post, President Trump announced that the U.S. will “start testing our Nuclear Weapons” for the first time in more than 30 years, falsely claiming that other nations have resumed testing. Nuclear testing is unnecessary, deeply harmful, and raises the risks of a nuclear arms race.
There are fewer than 100 days left until the end of New START, the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia. FCNL joined a week of action to urge Congress to act swiftly to make sure the world isn’t plunged into a dangerous and expensive arms race.
Dramatic cut to refugee admissions
The Trump administration announced that the U.S. would only accept 7,500 new refugees in the coming year, with a focus on Afrikaners from South Africa. As FCNL’s Bridget Moix put it, “This Presidential Determination represents a deplorable shift in American history. We will miss out on the vibrancy, resilience, and joy of our refugee brothers and sisters from all walks of life.””
Ongoing Genocide in Sudan
This week, we saw a devastating escalation in the conflict and in Sudan. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured El Fasher from the Sudanese Armed Forces. Atrocities have followed in the city, with reports of mass murders and extensive war crimes.
Congressional leaders have begun to condemn the violence and have called for accountability and safety for civilians. But the U.S. government needs to act swiftly to help stop these atrocities. That means holding the UAE accountable for arming the RSF, and surging U.S. aid to those in dire need. Join us and ask your members of Congress to speak up and to act!
Threatened attacks on military targets in Venezuela
The Trump administration may soon launch attacks at military targets within Venezuela, perhaps as a prelude to attempted regime change against the Maduro government. This comes as the U.S. government continues to murder people in boats in Latin America. The death toll is now over 60.
FCNL is lobbying Congress to assert their constitutional authority to stop this violence and reject this rush to war. Tell the Senate to stop Trump’s murder on the high seas!
Israeli attacks continue despite Gaza ceasefire
Israeli attacks killed over 100 people in Gaza this past week. Congress must block offensive weapons to hold Israel accountable and ensure a permanent ceasefire and the flow of aid.
