Health Care Advocates Join Affordable Virginia Calling on Rep. Kiggans to Reject Cuts to Essential Food Programs, Avert Government Shutdown

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 29, 2024

Virginia Beach, Va. – With a government shutdown looming, Affordable Virginia and health care providers in Hampton Roads are calling for Congresswoman Jen Kiggans to reject the harmful cuts to essential food programs her party is pushing and instead work to avert a shutdown. Kiggans represents Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District.

“Extreme House Republicans are willing to shut down the government in their pursuit of cutting access to food and nutrition programs for vulnerable women, children, and families,” said Joseph White, Organizing Director of Affordable Virginia. “Despite running on a promise to fight for working families, Rep. Jen Kiggans and her Republican colleagues are playing political games by putting the well-being of millions of vulnerable families at risk. We are calling on Kiggans to oppose these harmful cuts, avert a government shutdown, and stand with the working families she represents.”

Cuts to Essential Food Programs for Women, Infants, and Children

At the heart of the battle to avert a shutdown are GOP leaders who are refusing to fully fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). This could mean that states would need to reduce WIC participation by about 2 million participants. It also means that for the first time in decades, states could be forced to turn away qualified applicants. According to the USDA, “WIC is vital to the health and well-being of nearly half of our nation’s babies, along with millions of young children up to age 5 and their mothers.”   

Rep. Kiggans represents over 11,500 constituents, including over 6,500 children under 5, that rely on WIC, and experts say demand for this program keeps growing due to high food costs and other factors and worry the increased demand will not be met if the program is not adequately funded. 

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, if WIC is not adequately funded, children as young as 1 with medical conditions could be turned away, putting them at greater risk of developing severe health outcomes. “As a health care provider, it’s deeply concerning to think that vulnerable children and mothers could be denied access to essential nutrition,” said Linda Bennington, a registered nurse and professor of nursing in Virginia Beach. “Kiggans is also a health care provider, so I would think she would be opposed to taking away essential resources that will impact the health and well-being of her constituents, especially children.” 

Restricting food options for SNAP recipients

House Republicans are also demanding new restrictions on what kinds of food can be purchased using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The policy known as “SNAP-choice” is highly controversial among nutrition advocates who are voicing concern that this will further erode access to food by limiting options for vulnerable Americans. 

Earlier this month, a group of 20 organizations and advocates, including Save the Children and the Alliance to End Hunger, sent a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees opposing the restrictions on SNAP, saying, “SNAP participants should be able to make purchases based on what is best for themselves and their families. Restricting the use of benefits disregards cultural preferences and dietary needs and ignores the reality of what food and retail options are available in their communities.”

According to the most recent data available, Kiggans represents over 21,000 SNAP recipients who could be affected by these restrictions. 

How restricting SNAP will harm small businesses

Not only do these restrictions limit options for SNAP recipients, they also harm small businesses. The National Grocers Association also sent a letter to Senate and House leaders, citing the economic impacts these restrictions would have on both retailers and customers, saying, “Restricting eligible items to those approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture will quickly drive up food costs and strangle the program with needless red tape with no meaningful public health outcome to show in return.”

The letter also cites their opposition to requirements for grocery stores to “surveil” SNAP purchases, saying, “No consumer purchases have ever been subjected to this Orwellian level of snooping by the federal government, and it would set a terrifying precedent of intruding on the most private areas of our lives.”

Rep. Jen Kiggans’ history of voting to restrict access to food assistance

Rep. Kiggans has voted twice before to cut funding for WIC and voted to restrict access to SNAP. Advocates are urging her to change course to protect access to these essential programs. “Instead of working to give tax breaks to billionaires, Rep. Kiggans needs to take a look at her district and recognize the immense harm she will cause by voting for cuts to SNAP and WIC,” said White. “We are calling on her to oppose these cuts to these essential programs; otherwise, vulnerable families across our district are looking at the very real possibility of going hungry.”

Americans oppose spending cuts 

According to recent polling, a majority of Americans oppose the spending cuts right-wing Republicans are pushing, especially those aimed at Social Security, nutrition assistance, and education. And three in four Americans recognize that a shutdown would harm our economy. 

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