We’re 30 days into the government shutdown, and congressional Republicans don’t seem to care enough about their constituents to compromise and put an end to it. On Nov. 1, about 42 million Americans will lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), meaning more than 1 in 10 people in the United States could struggle to pay for food next month.

It would take $9.2 billion to cover food stamp costs for November. The U.S. Department of Agriculture currently has about $6 billion in a contingency fund for emergencies like this, yet Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claims that USDA can’t tap into that money to cover some of those expenses.

It’s so dire that Democratic attorneys general across the country have sued President Donald Trump’s administration, arguing that the government is obligated to fund the nation's food aid program despite the shutdown.

It’s distressing that it has come to this point, yet Republicans don’t seem to care enough about the American people to cede any ground on federal funding. It shouldn’t just be on Democratic lawmakers to have a conscience and acquiesce to funding cuts that would be devastating to this country. Do elected Republicans not care enough about the people who voted them into office to feed them next month?

Rural communities ‒ and Trump voters ‒ will suffer

By failing to end the government shutdown, Republicans are punishing their own constituents who rely on food stamps to afford groceries.

While some people may hold stereotypical views of SNAP recipients living in urban areas, this isn’t actually true. The majority of food stamp recipients live in rural areas, according to the Food Research and Action Center. These areas are made up of mostly Republican voters and are overwhelmingly represented by Republican politicians.

It’s not just individuals who will suffer, either. It’s small businesses that rely on SNAP, because every dollar invested in the program results in about $1.50 in economic activity. Once again, this will affect people in rural areas, where there might be fewer options for grocery stores.

Again, Republicans are the ones who hold all the power here. They could choose to partially fund the program. They could choose to work with the Democrats and end the government shutdown. The fact that they’re hurting their own voters out of sheer stubbornness is despicable.

We can care for each other, but the government needs to step in

In this moment, community resources are essential to keeping people fed. It’s time to give to food pantries and mutual aid groups, which are already stretched thin thanks to government budget cuts.

Content creators are trying to help people come up with ways to survive in the event that food stamps don’t get funded. DoorDash is also offering an emergency food response program that SNAP recipients can access.

At the same time, it’s upsetting that we must rely on each other and private entities when the government has money it could easily disperse – even if it isn’t as much as is needed. Acts of charity wouldn’t be necessary if our elected officials were ready to work together to end the shutdown, requiring the Republican Party to act with moral clarity instead of clinging to the idea that Congress is saving Americans by allowing them to suffer.

If elected Republicans from rural areas truly cared about their constituents, they would be willing to compromise with congressional Democrats and back down on funding cuts. After all, slashing aid such as Medicaid negatively affect their communities as well.

The entire shutdown debacle is proof that Republican lawmakers don’t care about the people in their communities. They only care about retaining power and pinning the blame on marginalized groups, instead of taking action that would actually help people.

GOP leaders have the power to end this shutdown if they come up with a compromise – it just seems unlikely that they will be the ones ceding ground.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Republicans' refusal to fund SNAP will hurt their own voters most. They don't care. | Opinion

Reporting by Sara Pequeño, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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