BPRC STATEMENT ON SPECIAL SESSION

[Negron, Alberto]

BPRC STATEMENT ON SPECIAL SESSION 

Last week the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus met with Governor Lamont in anticipation of the upcoming special session to address challenges stemming from the ongoing government shutdown and HR1. The caucus is united on a clear message: We must do more to keep Connecticut families whole.

As things stand, SNAP benefits are halved for one month and unfunded after that. There is no promise of LIHEAP dollars during some of the coldest months of the year. Furthermore, families are seeing their healthcare premiums reach unaffordable levels. The cost of those realities, combined with federally funded programs going dormant, is the loss of human lives. That impact not only affects the communities the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus represent, but every corner of the state.

“This is not a moment to rest,” said BPRC Chair Antonio Felipe. “We have neighbors who cannot sleep because they are cold, or because they can’t drown out the sounds of empty stomachs or tired heavy breaths. $3M in Foodshare was a start, but that only kicks the can down the road, we need to invest in the protection of all of our neighbors. Fully funding food, heat and energy assistance should be the bare minimum of what we do next week.”

"Middle and lower-income families have been struggling for quite some time, and the need to provide them some relief has grown exponentially. The time to help them is now," Vice Chair Derell Wilson said. "I don't think we can put a price tag on a person's quality of life or well-being, but I do know we as legislators have a responsibility to deliver to our constituents in their time of need."

Our Caucus strongly believes that Connecticut cannot stand idly by and let the messy, personal politics of Washington have a negative impact on vulnerable communities.

Families cannot continue to be sick and cold and hungry while we wait for the Federal Government to reopen. Making SNAP whole and building a large contingency fund of at least $500M over the next three months to do things like make sure families have heat, babies have diapers and seniors can be treated by our Federally Qualified Health Centers is not only good policy, it is what people deserve. We stand with all Connecticut Residents in saying that we have the capacity to do this for our residents and we must do it now.