2025 Senate Concurrent Resolution 7

Whereas, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the most effective anti-hunger and anti-poverty initiatives in the nation. SNAP provides critical food assistance to more than 42 million individuals, including working families, children, seniors, and veterans, who rely on this support to put food on the table; and

Whereas, In 2024, approximately 1.4 million Michigan residents relied on SNAP, which is one in seven Michiganders, including 492,225 children and 38,513 veterans; and

Whereas, In Senate Districts 9, 20, and 30 alone, over 29,000 households rely on SNAP benefits; and

Whereas, The USDA under the Trump Administration advised the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services that there may not be enough funds to pay November SNAP benefits in full and directed the department to pause and withhold November SNAP benefits until further notice; and

Whereas, The withholding, delay, or obstruction of SNAP benefit disbursement needlessly and directly threatens the stability and health of working individuals and their families who are already struggling under rising inflation from national policies initiated by the Trump Administration and the Republican Congress; and

Whereas, The White House and Republican Congressional majorities have repeatedly used hunger and hardship as political weapons, leveraging the suffering of fellow Americans to advance radical and draconian budget cuts, dismantle social safety nets, and score partisan political points at the expense of working families and human dignity; and

Whereas, The legislative actions and inactions of President Trump and Republicans in Congress have generated the political climate that has resulted in the shutdown of the federal government that threatens SNAP benefits and will also lead to dramatic increases in healthcare costs due to extreme cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act Enhanced Premium Tax Credits for working families; and

Whereas, The USDA has the option to use the billions of dollars available in contingency reserves, already authorized by Congress, to fund SNAP benefits, and any failure to act by President Trump and Secretary Rollins is a callous disregard of working individuals and families and a conscious choice to hurt fellow Americans; and

Whereas, Failure to release SNAP benefits will likely cause immediate and lasting harm: seniors will skip meals, children will go hungry, individuals with disabilities will have to pick between medication and eating, families will be forced to choose between putting food on the table and paying rent, and resource-strained communities will struggle with increased demand on food banks and emergency services; and

Whereas, The Trump Administration’s actions this year have already strained food banks by cutting 500 million dollars in deliveries for the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which provides locally produced meat, dairy, and eggs to food banks and other organizations across the country; and

Whereas, Michiganders in rural counties will be hardest hit. Of the 30 counties with the highest SNAP participation rates, 26 are rural. The economic impact of withholding SNAP benefits extends beyond individual households, as farmers, local grocery stores, and vendors will struggle with reduced demand for their goods; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That we urge the United States Department of Agriculture under the Trump Administration to release Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding without political interference, delay, or manipulation; and be it further

Resolved, That we urge the Republican majorities in Congress and President Trump to reopen the government, uphold health care access, and restore food access to people as soon as possible; and be it further

Resolved, That we call for an end to the deliberate obstruction of nutritional aid by the White House and Congressional Republicans, whose actions threaten the health, stability, and moral conscience of the nation; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of Agriculture, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, and the congressional delegation of Michigan.