Politics
Every other member of Massachusetts’ House delegation voted to approve the amendment, which would extend SNAP benefits to hot rotisserie chicken.
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern was the only Massachusetts Democrat in the House to vote against an amendment to extend SNAP benefits to cover hot rotisserie chicken, which the House passed along with the larger farm bill last week.
McGovern, who represents Worcester, was one of 35 no votes — 12 of which were from Democrats — on the amendment, which passed with 384 yes votes to add hot rotisserie chicken as an eligible item to be purchased with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits.
Every other member of the Massachusetts delegation in the House of Representatives voted to approve the amendment.
Currently, households cannot use SNAP benefits to buy “foods that are hot at the point of sale.”
“America’s best (and delicious) affordability play is Costco’s $4.99 rotisserie chicken,” said Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, one of the sponsors of the bill, per AP. “It’s one of my family’s favorites… SNAP funds would be well spent to feed our nation’s families who need it.”
In response to requests for comment, McGovern’s office referred to a statement about the vote posted on social media Tuesday in which he said Republicans “advanced a single-industry carve-out, pushed by lobbyists, for big grocers and billionaire food conglomerates.”
The Worcester Democrat said he voted against the rotisserie chicken amendment to instead support the Hot Foods Act, a proposal to allow Americans on SNAP to buy any hot foods at grocery stores. That amendment was blocked by Republicans, McGovern said.
“I voted against the rotisserie chicken amendment to preserve our ability to demand inclusion of the full Hot Foods Act as the farm bill heads to the Senate,” the statement said.
In the House and on social media, McGovern also spoke against the broader GOP-led Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026.
“This farm bill hurts rural communities, betrays farmers, and locks in the $187 billion Republicans stole from food assistance to give tax breaks to billionaires,” McGovern wrote on X. “This bill makes it harder for families to afford good, nutritious food.”
The farm bill, passed by the House with a vote of 224-200, may face policy disagreements in the Senate, according to POLITICO, which would hold up the rotisserie chicken amendment. The farm bill aims to ease costs for farmers and reauthorize USDA programs.
People on food assistance (most are seniors, kids, or Americans with disabilities) should be free to buy any hot food item at the grocery store, not just rotisserie chickens.
That’s what @RepGraceMeng‘s bipartisan Hot Foods Act would do. She offered it as an amendment to the… https://t.co/9BwlwAJlXS
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) May 5, 2026
Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.
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