Food assistance for 42 million Americans is set to run out as soon as Friday due to the ongoing shutdown — but one Republican Congressman didn’t express much sympathy, telling those reliant on food benefits to “stop smoking crack.”
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides tens of millions of low-income Americans with an average of $187 per participant per month, according to the Department of Agriculture. Due to the government shutdown, which has dragged on since October 1, the department has said it doesn’t have the $8 billion needed to fund the program in November.
