Durbin Visits St. Sabina's Food Pantry To Discuss Congressional Republicans' Efforts To Cut SNAP Benefits
CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined parish leaders at St. Sabina’s Social Services Center to highlight plans by Congressional Republicans to make the largest cut to food assistance and SNAP in American history with their so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In Illinois, two million individuals receive SNAP—with 60 percent having children in the household, and 33 percent having elderly or disabled individuals in the household. In total, up to 460,000 Illinoisans could see their SNAP benefits reduced if the Republican proposal becomes law.
“Republicans are planning to take health insurance away from 16 million Americans and take food off the table for millions more so that they can provide tax breaks to some of the wealthiest people on the planet,” said Durbin. “The two million Illinoisans that rely on SNAP receive an average of $6 per day, and food pantries like St. Sabina’s are well aware that this is nowhere near enough to provide for families falling on hard times or facing high grocery prices. People don’t just stop being hungry because Republicans decide that $6 a day is too much to spend on keeping children and seniors from starving. I’ll continue supporting lifeline services like St. Sabina’s while fighting to stop this disastrous plan by Congressional Republicans.”
Both the Senate and House versions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act include hundreds of billions in tax cuts for the ultrawealthy paid for by cutting hundreds of billions to nutrition and health care programs, including $200 billion in cuts to SNAP in the Senate version of the bill while the House version would slash $300 billion in SNAP funding.
The Congressional Budget Office’s latest analysis found that, under the Republican plan, the lowest-income households in the U.S. would lose $1,600 a year in federal resources while the highest-income households would see a $12,000 annual boost from tax cuts paid for by slashing SNAP benefits and terminating health insurance coverage for 16 million Americans.
Last week, Durbin questioned witnesses about false claims by Republicans about the harms from their SNAP cuts during a spotlight forum entitled “The Big Beautiful Betrayal—Working Folks Pay While the Mega Rich Profit.”
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