Rep. Underwood Votes to Protect Illinois Families and American Farmers and to Re-Open the Department of Agriculture and Other Key Agencies
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14) joined House Democrats to pass the FY 2019 Department of Agriculture and FDA appropriations bill to re-open this essential government agency to ensure the FDA and USDA can continue to inspect food and prevent public health epidemics, safeguard a strong, robust farmer safety net that provides certainty to our rural economy, and guarantee vulnerable Illinois families receive critical SNAP benefits.
"This unnecessary shutdown jeopardizes farmers' and growers' ability to provide the food necessary to feed our communities, while threatening crucial investments in rural infrastructure and universal broadband," said Rep. Underwood. "The ongoing shutdown endangers the health of our communities as hundreds of FDA and USDA food inspectors are being forced to stop doing their jobs, putting the safety of the food we eat at risk," continued Rep. Underwood.
"The people of the Illinois 14th deserve a fully functioning federal government, including the critical services provided by the Department of Agriculture and FDA. I believe in governing responsibly and will not allow the hard-working people of Illinois to be held hostage by this political stunt to shut down critical government agencies. We will continue to work to re-open government, and keep our promise to deliver progress for all Americans."
CONTACT: LaurenUnderwoodPress@mail.house.gov