Minneapolis Review

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, representing Minnesota and serving as the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, has expressed her concerns regarding the recent Senate passage of the Republican reconciliation bill.

Senator Klobuchar stated, "This bill is bad for families trying to put food on the table, for rural economies already dealing with the impact of tariffs, and for state and local governments working to make critical investments in the future."

She highlighted that SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), which currently aids 42 million Americans including children, seniors, people with disabilities, and veterans, will be significantly affected. "This bill will terminate food assistance for nearly 3 million of them and will reduce benefits for millions more," she said.

Klobuchar further pointed out that these cuts could have a detrimental effect on farmers who are already struggling financially. She noted that "farmers...will see billions in lost revenue" while rural grocers might face serious challenges.

The Senator also criticized how costs would be shifted to state governments under this bill. She mentioned that "state and local governments will be forced to choose: provide food assistance or reduce other critical services like law enforcement or health care." Additionally, she condemned a provision in the bill that rewards states with high error rates by delaying their cost-shift related to SNAP.

"The message to the country and the nation’s governors is this: raise your error rate and it delays your cuts for a year," Klobuchar explained. This creates an uneven playing field where states with lower error rates face financial penalties while others do not.

Senator Klobuchar concluded by advocating for bipartisan efforts: "Rather than shifting costs to states that they cannot pay for, what we should be doing is working together to bring down costs and to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill that will support all of rural America and make sure that families can put food on the table."