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During debate on the House floor, Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT) ripped into the Big Beautiful Bill as House Republicans attempted to pass it.
Transcript
00:00Good morning, Mr. Speaker.
00:02I rise today against the Republican Reconciliation Bill, which would put 42 million Americans
00:07at risk of losing their SNAP benefits.
00:09These policies are untested, they are dangerous, and they are arbitrary.
00:13Congress did not engage in a thoughtful process to make these changes to SNAP.
00:18The majority has not held a single hearing on the Nutrition Subcommittee on the cost-sharing
00:23provisions or the impact of this legislation.
00:27They have not solicited feedback from stakeholders or experts on what these changes would mean
00:32to states and hungry families who rely on SNAP.
00:36The Republicans did not examine these policies closely because they knew it would take food
00:40away from hungry families, and they didn't care.
00:43They have chosen to provide tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals.
00:48They know these changes will devastate state budgets.
00:52In my home state of Connecticut, we could have to pay up to an additional $221 million
00:57dollars per year for SNAP benefits and an additional $39 million for administrative costs.
01:03Connecticut, like most states, will have to come up with these funds or deny basic services
01:08that they need for other things like education, public safety, health care, and just providing
01:14for our roads and bridges in our states.
01:17Notably, not every state will be subject to this change.
01:20Late into the night, the Republican majority jumped through hoops to exempt non-contiguous
01:24states from these policies to pass cruel legislation.
01:28That is why we're up here, writing legislation on the fly to protect some Americans while going
01:34after others.
01:36No one should go hungry, whether they live in Connecticut, Alaska, Hawaii, or anywhere.
01:41It should not matter where you live or what kind of deal your senator made.
01:46Everybody deserves to eat.
01:48I urge my colleagues to reject this irresponsible legislation, and I yield back.

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