Rep. Salinas Votes Against “Cruel and Inhumane” Republican Budget in Agriculture Committee

Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) issued the following statement after voting against advancing Republicans’ budget bill out of the House Agriculture Committee: 

“This Republican budget bill is both cruel and inhumane. It punishes working families, taking away their health care and threatening food assistance for over 800,000 Oregonians. This legislation hurts farmers and small business owners who depend on SNAP purchases as a critical source of income, and it leaves Oregon’s rural communities without enough resources to fight wildfires and other natural disasters. What’s more, Republicans are doing all of this just so they can give more tax breaks to their billionaire donors.

Over the last two days, my Democratic colleagues and I have been working tirelessly to stop this disastrous legislation from moving forward out of the Agriculture Committee. We introduced dozens of amendments, many of them straightforward fixes that would have protected food assistance for children and ensured fired Forest Service workers are reinstated ahead of wildfire season. Yet at every turn, Republicans refused to work with us and were often absent from the committee room as we held these important discussions.

By forcing through this harmful legislation, Republicans have also shot down any chance of a truly bipartisan Farm Bill getting passed this Congress. They have sold out our farmers, seniors, veterans, and rural communities in order to line the pockets of Elon Musk and his rich friends. My constituents deserve better, and I will keep fighting to stop these massive cuts and protect Oregonians’ hard-earned benefits.” 

###