Congressman DeSaulnier Statement on Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors Vote to Fund CalFresh to Fill Trump-Created Shortfall

Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) made the following statement upon the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors' unanimous passage of a measure to proclaim a local emergency caused by the disruption of funding for CalFresh food assistance benefits and allocate up to $21,000,000 for CalFresh to benefit eligible households for the month of November.

"As President Trump uses hunger as a political tool to hurt the American people by illegally withholding previously allocated SNAP funding, I am pleased our community has stepped up and voted to provide funds that will help keep tens of thousands of members of our community from going hungry this month. Once again, the Bay Area leads with compassion and logic.

Throughout the shutdown, I have engaged with community partners, advocates, and organizations on the issue of hunger to highlight how Republicans' reckless shutdown is affecting our community. I have also joined my colleagues in urging the Agriculture Department to use the authority and money it has to continue SNAP payments during a shutdown and help prevent 42 million people across the country from going hungry.

I continue to call on my Republican colleagues and the Trump Administration to work with Democrats to end this government shutdown, and in the interim to release the more than $5.5 billion in contingency funds for food assistance, as is required by law."