LAREDO, Texas — U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar has voiced strong support for Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez’s upcoming regional summit on food insecurity, while sharply criticizing major funding cuts to safety-net programs enacted under federal legislation passed last year.
Speaking in an interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service, Cuellar confirmed that rising rates of hunger are affecting both his congressional district and the broader Rio Grande Valley following the passage of H.R. 1, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill."
The South Texas Democrat confirmed data recently highlighted by Bread for the World leader Felipe Salinas, which indicates that roughly 600,000 Texans—including 53,000 residents in the Rio Grande Valley—have lost access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the past year.
"Felipe is absolutely correct, and we've spoken," Cuellar said, recalling discussions with Salinas in Washington, D.C., and during a recent trip to the Valley. "The One Big Beautiful Bill was very ugly in the sense that it cuts over a trillion dollars of Medicaid. It will cut half a trillion dollars of Medicare. It cuts food programs, such as SNAP, and other programs by hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars."
Cuellar’s remarks come ahead of "Hunger in the RGV: A Call to Action," a regional forum hosted Thursday morning by Judge Cortez at South Texas College’s Mid-Valley Campus in Weslaco. The event brings together civic, faith, and healthcare leaders to address the growing strain on local food banks and families.
Cuellar sent direct praise to Cortez for taking the initiative to rally regional leaders around the issue.
"Tell him hello and tell him I thank him for doing that," Cuellar said of Cortez's forum. "Richard Cortez is correct."
According to Cuellar, the reduction in SNAP benefits arrives at a critical time when working families are already grappling with broader economic pressures, including rising fuel prices and tariffs.
"So while people are looking at prices going up because of tariffs, gasoline prices going up, and all those prices going up, they're actually seeing their healthcare cuts," Cuellar said. "It is healthcare that's being cut, Medicaid, Medicare, and food also."
Cuellar also leveled criticism at the structure of the legislation's tax provisions, arguing that short-term relief for workers was prioritized below permanent cuts for corporations and high earners.
While supporters have highlighted measures such as the "no tax on tips" provision, Cuellar argued the benefit is limited compared to permanent tax relief granted to wealthy individuals.
"It was sinister what they did, and I'll use the word, sinister," Cuellar said. "The super rich gets a permanent tax cut, but the no tax on tips, they put a cap of $20,000, and they do it only for three years... which means that we Democrats will have to fix that. And we also have to fix the cuts to healthcare, the cuts to SNAP, the cuts to Medicaid."
A member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, Cuellar pointed to the long-term impact on the national debt, warning that the legislation will significantly increase federal deficits.
"The debt has been increasing under the Republicans. So, with the One Big Beautiful Bill, they will add $4 trillion to the debt, and we already hit $40 trillion in debt," Cuellar said. "No Republican is talking about the debt, and as a Blue Dog Democrat, I'm always talking about it."
Cuellar noted that as lawmakers move to address looming fiscal cliffs—including challenges facing Social Security in five and a half years—reinstating funding for nutrition and healthcare programs will remain a top legislative priority.
The congressman added that his office is compiling detailed data detailing the local impact of federal healthcare and nutrition cuts on Texas's 28th Congressional District, which he plans to release publicly.
