{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://shontelbrown.house.gov/media/press-releases/congresswoman-brown-calls-out-trumps-snap-shutdown-cruel-callous-careless", "Congresswoman Brown Calls Out Trump\u2019s SNAP Shutdown: Cruel, Callous, Careless, Immoral, and Illegal", "2025-10-29", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "House", "OH", "Shontel M. Brown", "B001313", "shontelbrown.house.gov", "shontelbrown", "https://shontelbrown.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, DC \u2014 Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) spoke today at a press conference hosted by Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse (CO-02) on Trump\u2019s illegal SNAP shutdown. The Trump Administration has announced they will suspend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits beginning November 1. Brown blasted this decision, \u201cI am going to call it out for what it really is. It is cruel. It is callous. It is careless. It is immoral and it is illegal.\u201d\n\nLast week, Congresswoman Brown joined House Democrats in calling on the Trump Administration to release USDA contingency funds already appropriated by Congress to support benefits during emergencies.\n\nCongresswoman Brown\u2019s office remains in close contact with local governments and nonprofits and has more information for affected constituents available on her website.\n\nCongresswoman Brown\u2019s Remarks as Delivered (Video)\n\nGood afternoon everyone.\n\nThank you to our Assistant Democratic Leader, Congressman Neguse for organizing this press conference and for inviting me to be here.\n\nI am Congresswoman Shontel Brown \u2013 proudly representing Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.\n\nI serve as Vice Ranking Member on the House Agriculture Committee, where we\u2019ve been on the front lines fighting attacks on basic food benefits all year.\n\nNow, we are here today, because the President is illegally blocking $6 billion in emergency SNAP funding \u2026 money available and intended for moments exactly like this.\n\nWhy? In some cynical attempt to increase leverage so they don\u2019t have to fix the health care crisis they\u2019ve created.\n\nThey\u2019re forcing American families to go hungry rather than lowering health care costs.\n\nI wish I could say I was surprised \u2026\n\nBut this is the same President and Republican Congress that made the largest cuts to SNAP and Medicaid earlier this year to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans\u2026\n\nThat made those tax breaks for billionaires permanent but refuse to extend Enhanced Premium Tax Credits for even one year\u2026\n\nAnd that found $20 billion for a bailout for Argentina but is freezing the $6 billion sitting in the SNAP contingency fund.\n\n21% of the people in my district rely on SNAP to keep food on the table. That\u2019s one-in-five.\n\nSo when it comes to Trump\u2019s illegal SNAP shutdown\u2026\n\nI take this personally.\n\nBecause the people I represent do not deserve the pain and stress and anxiety and hunger that this is going to cause.\n\nLast week, we held an event in my district at a local grocery store.\n\nAnd a woman there named Diane spoke about what SNAP means to her.\n\nShe\u2019s not just a woman, she\u2019s a pillar in the community. Spending many of her days advocating for others.\n\nAnd I have not been able to stop thinking about what she said.\n\nShe\u2019s 75 years old, lives in public housing, and gets $63 a month in SNAP benefits for food -- and she needs every dollar of that to survive.\n\nStanding at the supermarket, she looked at food laid out \u2013 a package of ground beef, some canned food, some fruit and a loaf of bread.\n\nShe pointed out she already isn\u2019t able to afford that much on her budget.\n\nDiane does not deserve this.\n\nAnd somebody in the White House\u2026 somebody in Speaker Johnson\u2019s office\u2026 they may think this is a brilliant strategy that they have.\n\nTo threaten Diane\u2026 and to take from Diane.\n\nBut I am going to call it out for what it really is.\n\nIt is cruel. It is callous. It is careless.\n\nIt is immoral and it is illegal.\n\nThis is what happens when the people in power, only care about the people with perceived power.\n\nIt is time for the White House to release the funds.\n\nIt is time for Republicans to take the locks off the doors of the House Chamber.\n\nAnd instead of doing the extreme right wing thing for Donald Trump, it is time for my Republican colleagues to do the right thing for the people we represent.\n\nReopen the government. Release the funds. And cancel the cuts.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://shontelbrown.house.gov/media/press-releases/congresswoman-brown-calls-out-trumps-snap-shutdown-cruel-callous-careless"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3445708900690079, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}