WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) and 23 of their colleagues in a letter pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for more information about the cancellation of previously-approved funding through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) for food banks and other emergency food providers. This action by the Trump Administration would take food away from hungry Americans already facing high grocery prices and hurt American farmers who are being squeezed by tariffs and other cuts to domestic markets.
“We write regarding the reported cancellation of hundreds of millions of dollars in previously approved funding for food banks and other emergency food providers through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP),” wrote the Senators. “A cancellation of these funds could result in $500 million in lost food provisions to feed millions of Americans at a time when the need for food shelves is extremely high due to costly groceries and an uncertain economy.”
“If true, this major shift in a program utilized by emergency food providers in every state in the nation will have a significant and damaging impact upon millions of people who depend upon this program for critical food assistance,” the Senators continued. “In addition, this program consists of purchases of U.S. commodities at a time when America’s growers and producers are struggling due to tariffs, proposed tariffs, animal disease and many other challenges.”
Read the full letter HERE.
Senators Rosen and Cortez Masto have been vocal opponents of the Trump Administration’s efforts to cut critical programs Nevadans rely on all while trying to give further tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy. Earlier this month, the Senators demanded the USDA reverse its cancellation of food purchase programs across the U.S., warning of the harmful impacts this move will have on both families and American farmers. Additionally, Rosen and Cortez Masto have pushed multiple Departments under the Trump Administration for detailed, public information regarding the impacts of President Trump’s federal funding freeze, hiring freeze, and terminations on Nevada – including to the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, and the General Services Administration.
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