Today, Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson joined House Democrats to pass the FY 2019 Department of Agriculture and FDA appropriations bill to reopen these essential government agencies to guarantee vulnerable Florida families receive critical SNAP benefits, ensure the FDA and USDA can continue to inspect food and prevent public health epidemics, and safeguard a strong, robust farmer safety net that provides certainty to our rural economy.
"Every day that the Trump shutdown drags on, Florida families suffer. If it continues, 3,656,169 Floridians--64 percent of whom are part of families with children--are at risk of going hungry and losing the critical nutrition assistance needed to grow and thrive. Thanks to programs like SNAP, 230,000 children in Florida are kept out of poverty. Frankly, this shutdown endangers the health of everyone in the nation because hundreds of FDA and USDA inspectors have been furloughed, which puts at risk the safety of the food we eat," said Congresswoman Wilson.
"Sadly, the president and Senate Republicans don't care who the Trump shutdown hurts and are seemingly in no hurry to end it and reopen government. It is outrageous that Senate Republicans are refusing to bring to a vote the very same legislation that they passed only a month ago and restore certainty to people's lives. The president needs to deal with reality and end this shameful endeavor to hold hardworking Americans hostage to his campaign promise of a wall that the country does not need or want," she added.
"Since the start of the new Congress, House Democrats have taken steps to reopen all government agencies by passing individual, bipartisan appropriations bills so we can meet our constituents' needs and protect our borders. We will continue to work to reopen government and keep our promise to deliver progress for all Americans."
