As seen in the El Paso Times
By Congresswoman Veronica Escobar
Anyone who has ever experienced a government shutdown knows how awful it is for everyone involved — it’s terrible for our federal workforce, for the economy and for the Americans who want their government to actually work. In my op-ed for the El Paso Times on Oct. 2, I explained how we got here. But what happened while Americans were suffering was eye-opening, and this painful experience made clear how little the Trump administration cares about hard-working Americans.
From refusing to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, to picking who would or would not get paid among the federal workforce, to the administration’s unwillingness to use available funding for SNAP recipients, I hope Americans better understand just how comfortable this president is with punishing you.
Early on into the shutdown, Donald Trump announced that he saw it as an opportunity to cut what he called “Democrat programs.” One of his top targets was (and remains) SNAP, the program that helps millions of Americans — most of them the working poor — put food on the table. To be clear: this is not a “Democrat program,” it is a program that helps Americans regardless of political persuasion.
But yes, it is a Democratic priority to ensure Americans do not go hungry. Apparently, according to the president, it’s not a Republican priority — despite having access to a $5 billion contingency fund to ensure SNAP recipients would not run out of food during a government shutdown.
Many in our community — just as in every other American community — were deeply concerned about the lapse in funding for hungry families, what it would do to the vulnerable in our community, and how it would impact our local economy. Every $1 provided by the federal government for SNAP recipients generates $1.54 in economic activity. By that logic, SNAP generates over $36 million for our community from the nearly $24 million in benefits El Pasoans receive; but more importantly, nearly 70,000 households in El Paso depend on it. In our state, 3.5 million Texans depend on SNAP.
Thankfully, the lapse ended last week, but the short-term crisis caused by Trump’s withholding of the funding should serve as a wakeup call to Americans: once the SNAP cuts in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) go into full effect, we are going to live through this crisis again. The difference is that the SNAP funding cut during the shutdown was temporary; the funding cuts in the Republicans’ OBBB will be permanent.
And of course, Trump couldn’t resist choosing winners and losers among the federal workforce during the shutdown. He chose to ensure some federal employees would get paid, and he chose those who would not. His administration has even gone as far as calling out air traffic controllers who took sick leave during the shutdown, questioning their patriotism.
Our federal workforce didn’t only have to endure working without pay during the shutdown, but there was added stress they faced because of warnings that came from the White House. On more than one occasion, the Trump administration said they would engage in mass layoffs and threatened to stop federal employees from getting their backpay.
To add insult to injury, while Americans were hurting — either because of the shutdown, suspended SNAP funding, or just dealing with the rising cost of utilities, groceries and health insurance — Donald Trump had a great time. He held lavish parties at Mar-a-Lago, leveled the East Wing in order to make room for a massive, gaudy ballroom, sent $40 billion to his friend in Argentina, and allowed DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to spend millions for two jets for her use to fly around the country.
You might’ve also read that when the time came to vote for the Continuing Resolution (CR) that would offer a short-term funding patch, eight Senate Republicans inserted the most offensive provision yet: a law that allows eight Senate Republicans to be compensated, to the tune of half a million dollars per instance that their phone records were subpoenaed as part of the January 6th insurrection investigation. This compensation would make these individuals millionaires (with a MINIMUM payout of $1 million each). Sen. Lindsay Graham said he expected to make tens of millions of dollars off this provision. These Republican senators are literally trying to take your tax dollars and put them into their personal bank accounts.
There was no way I could support this bill, which is why I voted “no.”
While the president was looking for ways to withhold funding for needy families, here in the generous community of El Paso, people, businesses and organizations stepped up. Dozens of restaurants offered free food and donations to federal employees and SNAP recipients. Businesses offered discounted services or specials for federal employees. Non-profit organizations provided food aid. Working with credit unions, we made sure federal employees had access to financial support they needed during the shutdown. I was proud of our community and faith leaders who came together to talk about the moral imperative to help one another.
As Congress resumes our work on Capitol Hill, it’s important that we as a community prepare for the cuts that lie ahead. From cuts to Medicaid, the impact these cuts have on Medicare, the dismantling of the Department of Education, and the enduring challenge that Trump’s tariffs are posing, especially here on the border, we’ve seen one crisis end, but another on the horizon.
My priorities are ensuring Congress renews the ACA tax credits so that 92,000 El Pasoans can afford their health insurance; dealing with the exploding affordability crisis caused by Trump’s terrible economic policy; and, rolling back the damaging cuts in Republicans “One Big Beautiful Bill.” And most importantly, my work to enact legislation and appropriations that help uplift — not hurt — El Pasoans. We must take the lessons we learned from the crisis of the shutdown and prepare for the crisis around the next corner.
