Washington, D.C. — In a pivotal full House vote this morning, Rep. Tom Kean Jr. voted to pass a deeply controversial federal budget reconciliation bill that would slash the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – the country’s primary anti-hunger tool – by about $300 billion. These devastating cuts, alongside hundreds of billions more from Medicaid, are designed to bankroll massive tax breaks for corporations and the ultra-wealthy.

More than 10,800 households in New Jersey’s 7th District rely on SNAP to keep food on the table. Now, an estimated 6,000 people, including many children and seniors, are at risk of losing some or all of that support. Rep. Kean’s vote directly undermines the basic health and dignity of his own constituents. Notably, the bill passed by a razor-thin margin — his vote alone could have stopped it.

In response, Food & Water Watch’s New Jersey State Director Matt Smith issued the following statement:

“This unconscionable vote by Rep. Kean is a direct attack on the basic health and wellbeing of families across New Jersey. He chose to take food out of the mouths of thousands of children and working families in his district — just to fund tax breaks for billionaires. It’s a shameful betrayal of the people he was elected to represent.”