The Daily Sentinel reported July 30 that food insecurity for western slope children has spiked by 14% over the last year, to 23%. That means roughly 6,570 children, or about one in every five children in the Grand Valley, are currently going hungry every single day.
Why have things gotten so much worse on the Western Slope?
You won’t find the answer in the Daily Sentinel’s article.
It’s happening because on July 2, 2025, our own CD-3 House Representative Jeff Hurd voted for Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a federal tax reconciliation bill that slashed social safety net programs, including SNAP (the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) which helped low-income households buy food. The bill also slashed Medicaid by about $1 billion statewide and kicked tens of thousands of Coloradans and working class families off their health insurance by making Affordable Care Act (ACA) monthly premiums unaffordable. The bill did, however, confer massive tax breaks on the wealthiest Americans. It helped the average person living in Pitkin County, for example, by saving them over $22,717/year on their taxes, while causing more families in Mesa County to go hungry. Despite pressure by Democrats via the longest government shutdown in history, Republicans refused to reinstate the health insurance premium support, leading insurance premiums in Mesa County to spike by an average of 38.4%, and putting health insurance out of reach for many families. Add the increasing cost of food to the increasing costs of day care, gasoline and diesel due to Trump’s war on Iran, and many western slope families are stressed to the breaking point with no relief in sight.
The Big Ugly Bill that caused this disaster passed by a close vote of 218-214, with 212 Democrats voting against and 218 Republicans voting in favor. The deciding votes on the bill were cast by Republican House Reps. Jeff Hurd and Gabe Evans of Colorado’s 8th District.
Reps. Hurd and Evans could have made a huge difference and saved a lot of suffering by their constituents by voting against the bill, but instead they kowtowed to convicted felon Trump by voting for his Big Awful Bill, knowing it would negatively impact lower income families while making the richest people in their districts richer.
The Daily Sentinel article about the increase in child hunger locally focused only on the impact the increase in hunger is having on food banks, while making no mention at all about the role CD-3 Rep. Jeff Hurd played in making so many more children in his own district suffer from hunger.
Oops-TPS =Temporary Protected Status for immigrants
TSP= Thrift Savings Plan the fed govt equivalent of 401K for federal workers
Hurd’s herd mentality to vote to cut food assistance knowing it would impact children in Mesa Cty and elsewhere is analogous to Amy C. Barrett voting to terminate TSP for Haitians (and Syrians.)
She chose to adopt a Hatian child- but gave No thought of forcing the now highly valued and respected Haitian workers and their families back to the current hellish gang run island of Haiti !
Like the Syrians headed back to uncertainty and violence, the Haitians coming from the US will be targeted and suffer greatly-if- they survive famine, disease, and violence to include rape as a weapon practiced by the gangs.
So Herd has 6 children that…require healthy food but chose the self serving easy route in voting to cut food assistance.
Similarly, Barrett did not look at her Haitian child and consider his heritage, his ethnicity nor did she endeavor to vote to continue TSP for humanities sake.
Both decisions were cruel and thoughtless but did further anchor their standing in this effed up, sick and sickening administration.
Oops-TPS =Temporary Protected Status for immigrants
TSP= Thrift Savings Plan the fed govt equivalent of 401K for federal workers
I can’t even count how many times I’ve contacted Jeff Hurd about so many issues: the Big Ugly Bill; the “SAVE” Act; the looming Social Security shortfall; funding cuts to our science, health and energy research agencies; etc., etc., etc. But I *can* count how many responses I’ve had from either him or his staff: ZERO!
And then there are those self-serving, platitude-filled, purely performative “Hurd Huddle” e-mails . . . geez!
OTOH – every time that I’ve contacted Sen. Bennett’s office, I’ve always had a prompt response.
Let’s flush Hurd in 2026!
If one were to apply the lessons of Bible in their daily choices, what are we to make of Jesus’ statements as recorded in Matthew Chapter 25, where he tells us that those who have fed the hungry, given drink to the thirsty and taken in strangers will be seated at his right hand in eternity?
“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
While those who have not will be punished.
“Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
Asking for a friend….
Shame on Jeff Hurd!!!
And the Daily Sentinel & local TV news for NOT connecting the dots to Hurd for this terrible impact!!!
The GOP tax bill Rep. Hurd voted for. Yeah, that’s the one that makes many Coloradans lose health insurance. That causes many Mesa County children to go hungry. All to make the oligarchs richer.
It’s just the GOP moral code at work: “I’ve got mine, so F U!”
Jeffrey Hurdstein is a Treason Weasel for Trump, as are most republicans. But treason is also being committed against the good people of the State of Colorado. The penalty in Colorado: Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The Federal penalty for treason is decided by the US Congress. “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them OR ADHERES TO THEIR ENEMIES, giving them aid and comfort WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OR ELSEWHERE, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.” https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2381 Jeffrey Hurdstein is both Putin and Bibi’s puppet by his proxy, one Donald J. Trump.