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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Mayor Justin Bibb joined democratic mayors from across the country Thursday to deliver a message to Washington D.C.: Fund SNAP. Perhaps the strongest words came from Mayor Randall Woodfin of Birmingham, Alabama, who said “We hope, but we demand, that those in D.C. get their act together and do right by the American people and make sure Americans do not starve.” The mayors are joining a chorus of public officials who are lobbying to keep SNAP benefits from being cutoff, starting this weekend. The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are poised to halt as of Nov. 1 because the federal government remains in a shutdown and the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it lacks the appropriated funding to cover the full month’s payments. Cuyahoga County officials said recently that 190,000 residents would lose benefits if action is not taken to avoid the SNAP cutoff. Friday morning, a coalition of local government officials and nonprofits are holding a news conference to announce a plan to response to those cuts. Ohio Senators Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno, both Republicans, joined legislation that would ensure SNAP benefits are paid even if the government remains shut down. And legislators in the Ohio Statehouse are clashing over what to do and formulating a response. Ohio receives about $263 million a month for SNAP, which provides grocery aid to 1.4 million residents. Those benefits are issued between Nov. 2 and 20. Bibb, who’s president of the Democratic Mayors’ Association, led the call with reporters Thursday afternoon. He spoke of meeting with seniors in Cleveland, who are scared in the face of SNAP cuts. Bibb said during the call that SNAP benefits are not a partisan issue. He and his colleagues said they will do what they can from City Hall to fill in the gaps, but they called on the federal government to put people over politics. Bibb was joined by Woodfin, Paige Cognetti of Scranton, PA and Regina Romero of Tucson, Arizona.
