Valley Solutions

We Shouldn’t Run a Government
by Holding Hungry Families Hostage

By Rep. Adam Gray
The Turlock Journal, Nov. 13, 2025

This shutdown has made one thing very clear: President Trump and his allies are far too comfortable using vulnerable Americans as political leverage. One of the first things they did during the shutdown was refuse to authorize emergency funds to cover food stamps, delaying SNAP benefits nationwide. In my district alone, more than 47,000 households — 21.1% of all families — rely on SNAP to put food on the table.

Even after federal courts ordered the administration to release emergency food stamp funding during the shutdown, they continued to delay SNAP payments. That means 47,000 Valley families had to wonder whether they could buy groceries or whether they needed to ration food until politicians stopped fighting.

No parent should have to choose between feeding their children and keeping the lights on because someone in Washington thinks chaos is a negotiating tactic.

That’s why I voted for a bipartisan agreement that takes food assistance off the table for an entire year. So, when the next shutdown happens (and in this divided Washington, there is always a next shutdown) the president cannot use hungry kids as bargaining chips again. This agreement also protects veterans, small business owners, and federal workers from being turned into political weapons.

It guarantees that federal employees laid off during the shutdown are rehired and receive back pay. It blocks agencies from mass firings while this funding framework is in effect.

It keeps SBA lending authority open so small businesses, including the 16,560 small businesses in my district, can continue to access support.

It funds VA medical care, mental health services, toxic exposure care, and women veterans’ health. In our district, that matters to 15,734 veterans.

Is this a perfect deal? No. But lasting policy in this country is not born of hostage-taking. It is born of compromise.

Some critics have asked why I supported the bill when it did not include an immediate extension of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits. Here’s why: Protecting families from hunger today does not prevent us from lowering health care costs tomorrow.

This summer, I introduced the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act of 2025, legislation to restore Medicaid funding for community health centers and permanently extend the enhanced premium tax credits that millions of Americans rely on to afford coverage. In my district, nearly 417,800 people, including 146,200 children, rely on Medicaid. If Congress fails to act, premiums will spike as much as 200% for many working families overnight.

Republicans have already put their commitments to support extensions in writing. A group of House Republicans recently sent a letter to their leadership saying, “We will not take healthcare away from families who depend on it. This is our opportunity to demonstrate that commitment through action.”

Those are their words. Now they need to keep their promise.

Shutdowns don’t punish politicians. They punish parents who rely on federal food assistance, veterans waiting on VA appointments, small business owners depending on SBA loans, and federal workers who simply want to do their jobs.

Shutting down the government does not make anyone more free, prosperous, or secure. It just makes life harder for people already carrying too much.

This agreement takes hostages off the table. It protects school meals and food assistance programs for working families, Medicaid and Medicare hospital funding, SBA loans, FEMA flood insurance, and veterans’ health care and services.

This compromise solution took the pain off working families and put the pressure back where it belongs: On Congress.

Going forward, my focus is simple: Lower health care costs and protect the people I represent from becoming pawns in political games. I will work with any Republican or Democrat serious about doing the same.

Governing requires difficult choices. Congress could have rejected this deal, kept the government closed, and watched families go hungry while we make a point. Instead, I accepted an imperfect compromise that protects the most vulnerable for a whole year while we keep working to save health care.

Governing is not about winning arguments. It’s about fixing problems and improving people’s lives.

Rep. Adam Gray (D-Merced) represents the 13^th California Congressional District, which includes all of Merced County and portions of Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Madera and Fresno counties.

What others are saying:

Shutdown revealed food insecurity

SF Chronicle. Disappointed that Democrats caved on shutdown? Here are 42 million reasons. 
Synopsis: Columnist Harry Mok writes about the disappointment felt by liberals after Democrats relented and ended the government shutdown. Those who are the angriest probably aren’t carrying EBT cards. The standoff showed just how fragile food security in the US has become. For instance, 1-in-8 CA children live in food-insecure households. He quotes a school official, “The reality is that many food-insecure families are working families who are just one unexpected circumstance away from not being able to put food on the table.” Schools are a crucial part of the safety net for children.

Ending shutdown saved ag research

Science. Deal to end US shutdown includes good news for farm science funding.
Thousands of scientists employed by the US government began to get back to work today after the House of Representatives passed legislation that ended the record 43-day government shutdown. The package of bills agreed to by Republicans and eight Senate Democrats and two in the House included good news for agricultural scientists as lawmakers mostly rejected deep cuts to the US Dept of Agricultura. The White House had asked for a 9% cut to funding for research programs under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, but the bill keeps funding at last year’s level.

The Democrats had already won

The New Yorker. Did Democrats win the shutdown after all?
Synopsis: Columnist John Allsop reacts to those who were furious that Democrat lawmakers “caved in” to Republicans and ended the shutdown before achieving what they championed as their biggest goal: Lowering the cost of health insurance for those in the Affordable Care Act. The shutdown and its end allowed Democrats to focus the world’s attention on Donald Trump’s corruption, turning what had been a “diffuse crisis” into a “acute” one. When Donald Trump blamed the shutdown for Republican losses across the board in last week’s elections – from New York to Georgia to California – the Democrats had already won. And nothing will be able to erase the memory of Donald Trump throwing a “Great Gatsby” party in his posh resort while so many suffered.

Shutdown didn’t serve the people

Sacramento Bee. Message to CA Dems: Move beyond shutdown and serve the people. 
Synopsis: Columnist LeBron Hill takes issue with Democratic party leaders like Gavin Newsom who would have preferred the shutdown continue to make a point. The suffering taking place in California was real. “Political battles will continue, but the real victory is that our government is back to functioning as it should.”
MAD Note: In all his apportionment of blame, Hill fails to recognize the one California Democrat who voted to reopen the government – Rep. Adam Gray. The Congressman from Merced represents more than 45,000 households – some 160,000 people -- who rely on SNAP benefits to feed their families through CalFresh.