WASHINGTON—Today, Rules Committee Ranking Member James P. McGovern (D-MA) announced a statewide End Hunger Now Tour, during which he will visit every congressional district in the Commonwealth to hear firsthand from people struggling to put food on the table, see how the Trump administration's cruel cuts to nutrition assistance are hurting our communities, and spotlight the courageous people and organizations making a difference in the fight against hunger.
“Republicans cut nearly $200 billion in nutrition assistance just to give their billionaire donors another massive tax break in their Big Ugly Bill,” said McGovern. “I’ve warned for months about how disastrous their policies will be for hungry Americans and working people, and we’re now starting to see the devastating impacts. Unlike my Republican colleagues, I’m listening to the people who are getting screwed by Trump’s economy, and I’m going to keep fighting on behalf of the people all across Massachusetts and the country who don’t know where their next meal is going to come from.”
McGovern’s tour comes as people across the country are starting to see substantial cuts to nutrition assistance after Republicans enacted the largest cut to food assistance in American history. The Big Ugly Bill cuts SNAP benefits for all 42 million beneficiaries, including 16 million kids, 8 million seniors, 4 million people with disabilities, and 1.2 million veterans. The bill takes food benefits away from 5 million people nationwide, including nearly 100,000 Massachusetts residents, by enacting draconian and onerous new red tape—requiring veterans, families with teenagers, older adults, homeless individuals, and former foster youth to jump through hoops just to get the food assistance they desperately need.
“Not only is this administration making hunger worse—now they’re trying to hide it by canceling USDA’s research and reporting on hunger in America,” continued McGovern. “Not on my watch. I’m launching this tour to hear directly from folks struggling with hunger, local officials, and the incredible nonprofit leaders on the front lines of fighting food insecurity in Massachusetts.”
Congressman McGovern’s statewide End Hunger Now Tour officially begins on Friday, January 16th, with events in Massachusetts’ 8th and 7th congressional districts. Details for both stops will be announced shortly.
“I’m thankful that Congressman Lynch and Congresswoman Pressley are hosting the first leg of my tour, and I look forward to joining more of my Democratic colleagues in their communities later this month,” McGovern concluded.
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McGovern is a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and a leading national voice in the fight to end hunger. For decades, he has championed working families and vulnerable communities—fighting back against repeated efforts to cut food assistance and spearheading efforts to strengthen and expand programs like SNAP, school meals, and summer nutrition. He helped to create and maintain the Gus Schumacher nutrition incentive program to bolster access to fresh local food. During the COVID-19 pandemic, McGovern’s advocacy helped deliver historic increases in nutrition benefits, keeping food on the table for millions of families across the country. McGovern is also the Co-Chair of the House Hunger Caucus and founded the Food is Medicine Working Group, where he has pushed to treat hunger as both a moral failure and a public health crisis. He played a pivotal role in convening the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health—the first in more than 50 years—successfully securing funding for the conference and helping produce a national strategy to end hunger by 2030. McGovern is also a principal author of the George McGovern–Bob Dole International Food for Education Program and has been recognized for his leadership with a James Beard Leadership Award and the McGovern-Dole Leadership Award from World Food Program USA.
