WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees, on Wednesday released the following statement on the Trump administration’s proposed rule to take nutrition assistance, specifically the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), away from millions of Americans, including thousands of people in Connecticut:

“SNAP is a lifeline for 443,000 people across Connecticut and for millions of Americans. The latest proposal from this administration is just plain cruel: they are choosing to give trillions of dollars in tax cuts to those who don’t need it, while taking away food assistance from those who need it most,” said Murphy. “I’ll do all I can to stop these attacks on hard-working American families trying to make ends meet.”

SNAP is our nation’s first line of defense against hunger, providing essential nutrition benefits to working families, children, senior citizens, and disabled individuals in every state and town in our country. In Connecticut, 78% of all SNAP households either are working or have worked in the past year. Low-income children participation in SNAP are 18% more likely to graduate from high school. In 2013, Murphy spent a week living on $4.80/day food stamp budget to gain firsthand understanding into the realities for so many Americans.

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