“Children in Poverty Could Be the Hardest Hit” By Schweikert, Crane, Ciscomani’s Tax Scam [Arizona’s Family]

Just one of them had to vote against the GOP Tax Scam, dubbed a “disaster for the food safety net,” to stop the deepest cuts to SNAP benefits in history.

Tens of thousands of Arizona kids could lose access to “the only nutritious meals” they “can get routine access to” – all because Schweikert, Crane, and Ciscomani refused to stand up to their billionaire donors and Republican Party bosses.

Now, Arizonans are reading all about Schweikert, Crane, and Ciscomani’s cowardice.

DCCC Spokesperson Lindsay Reilly:
“David Schweikert, Eli Crane, and Juan Ciscomani all backed legislation to take food out of hungry kids’ mouths to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. That’s unforgivable to Arizona families, and they’ll hold them accountable for it next November.”

In case you missed it…

• School lunches are often the only nutritious meals lower-income children can get routine access to, according to nutrition experts.
• Those school lunches may soon be out of reach for tens of thousands more hungry Arizona students.
• The bill proposed would cut about $1 trillion from SNAP and Medicaid. Under the bill, it would be harder for families to qualify for SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps. For families on food stamps, it’s easy to get access to free and reduced lunch programs in schools.
• Scottsdale Unified School District announced the price of its school lunches will increase for the first time in eight years due to rising costs.

• In February, Representative Juan Ciscomani said he opposed SNAP and Medicaid cuts. Yet on May 22, he voted for them in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.
• The Congressional Budget Office and others estimated that the bill would reduce the after-tax income of families in the bottom 10-20% of earners.
• What happens when those families lose access to SNAP, Medicaid, and school meals? They may turn to a food pantry, only to find empty shelves because TEFAP and LFPA, which provide most pantry food, have also been cut.
• The administration’s unsparing chainsaw has already obliterated grant-funded community programs that filled the gaps when earnings and public programs fell short.
• The bill hacks $290 billion from SNAP, cutting benefits for over 40 million Americans, mostly households with children, older adults and people with disabilities.
• Arizona would face $28.1 million in increased SNAP administrative costs.
• The bill would also eliminate the Community Eligibility Provision, which has substantially reduced administrative costs and increased school meals participation in recent years. Its elimination would impact nearly 150,000 Arizona children.
• Together, the bill and the broader effort to dismantle public services will deepen hunger and hardship for millions – and hurt not just families, but also farmers, already strained by tariffs and food aid cuts, grocers, farmers markets and the entire food economy.

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