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Texas Democrats are warning that proposed reforms to federal food stamp programs embedded in the big spending bill moving through Congress will punish single mothers for not being married.
Republicans have proposed extending work requirements under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for parents with children between the ages of 7 and 18. Currently, parents with dependent children under 18 can be exempted from 20-hour-a-week work requirements.
Under the so-called "big, beautiful bill" President Donald Trump is pushing Congress to pass, mothers who are married will be able to apply for an exemption if their spouse is working and meeting the requirement. Single mothers who are not married will not be exempted.
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday that nearly four million children nationwide could lose SNAP benefits because their parents can't meet the work requirements.
"It is discrimination against single parents," Garcia said. "It puts a lot of women in a position of having to try to figure out what to do with two or three children that are older than 7 but still are at home under their care because of the lack of daycare."
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, said the "hostility toward single mothers" was "shameful."
Republicans are defending the broader changes, saying they are trying to make sure people are working or seeking work to receive any type of welfare benefits.
"We ensure that SNAP works the way Congress intended it to by reinforcing work," said U.S. Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, a Pennsylvania Republican who is chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
Texas has over 3 million people enrolled in the SNAP program. The work requirements plus other changes to the program under the bill could result in 683,000 Texans, or about 23% of the state's participants, losing some or all of their SNAP benefits, according to research from the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
 | Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter |
Who's Up, Who's Down
A daily stock market-style report on key players in Texas politics.
Up: Aliza Dutt.
The mayor of Piney Point Village, a Houston enclave with a population of roughly 3,000, announced she'll challenge Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo for re-election next year in the state's biggest county. Dutt said public safety, fiscal responsibility and an emphasis on infrastructure are the key pillars of her campaign. Hidalgo won her last re-election in 2022 but it was tight. She defeated Republican Alex Mealer by just about 18,000 votes.
Down: Donald Trump.
The big spending bill and tax cut package he wants from Congress doesn't look likely to pass before the Memorial Day Weekend as was once the target. That's partly thanks to U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, who joined with other GOP budget hawks in saying they oppose the bill in its current form because it doesn't cut enough spending. "We're working with the White House, but there's a long way to go," Roy said on Wednesday. Trump may ultimately prevail, but it won't be at the speed he originally wanted. If the bill clears the House, it then needs to go to the U.S. Senate for yet more debate. Because Republicans have such a slim majority in the House, just four Republicans voting against the bill could kill it.
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What else is going on in Texas
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Pick of the day
Photo by: TNS
In what could be the most significant change in the military presence in San Antonio in decades, the Army is drafting plans to fold two Army commands now headquartered at Fort Sam Houston into a new Western Hemisphere Command. Where the new command will be located and how many San Antonio-based personnel could be affected is unclear. Still, the news was unsettling for leaders of a city whose economy and image are built around a robust military presence, reflected in the moniker "Military City USA."
What else I'm reading
Before he was the U.S. Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy made the rounds in Texas as lumberjack champion. Seriously. Ronald W. Erdrich of the Abilene Reporter-News wrote about how Duffy competed in timbersports like log rolling, wood chopping, competitive sawing and speed climbing. One stop on the circuit was at the West Texas Fair & Rodeo in Abilene.
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