FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2020
CONTACT: [email protected]
One Country Project Urges Administration to Support Vulnerable Rural Communities
A New USDA Rule Would Take Food Off the Table for Hundreds of THousands
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Responding to a new Trump administration rule via the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would enact stricter work requirements on childless adults who rely on the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for food aid, One Country Project co-founder Heidi Heitkamp released the following statement.“We are shocked to learn that amid a global pandemic, at a time when pictures of barren grocery store shelves across the country are an everyday news item, the president would eliminate vital food aid that our nation’s most vulnerable rely upon for basic survival.
“We don’t expect the president to become the leader he is incapable of being. Born into wealth and insulated from the real world experienced by most Americans, he cannot comprehend what it is like to go without and he doesn’t know or understand the America that brings their lunch in a pail or takes a shower after work. In this moment of national and global crisis, we would think he would forgo his traditional callousness toward those who, despite their best efforts, need a helping hand to get by.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the proposed USDA rule that would enact tighter access to those enrolled in SNAP, which will unnecessarily burden hundreds of thousands of Americans across this country, including 16 percent of rural households.”
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The One Country Project, founded by former U.S. Senators Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly, is working to promote greater opportunities for rural communities and ensure leaders earn their support. One Country is reengaging with rural Americans, serving as a clearinghouse of research and information for rural Americans, and working to ensure leaders regain trust by fighting for these communities. To learn more, visit the website, https://onecountryproject.com/.