Republicans in the House and Senate are proposing to slash more than $230 billion from SNAP and school nutrition programs in order to fund more tax handouts for the wealthy and billion-dollar corporations. But it’s far from a done deal.
SNAP is not only our most effective anti-hunger program, it plays a crucial role in reducing poverty and improving health and economic outcomes. It’s also linked to better education outcomes and self-sufficiency, and plays an important role in supporting rural communities.
SNAP is one of the most cost-effective government programs in existence. Every dollar spent on SNAP generates $1.80 in local communities. Cuts to SNAP and school nutrition programs will have devastating consequences for generations to come.
Individual states currently pay a portion of the cost of administering SNAP, while the federal government pays the actual benefits. Implementing a $230 billion cut could force states to take on a portion of the cost of nutrition benefits for the first time, a radical change in the program that could lead to drastic cuts, increasing wait times for approval for benefits, or put a huge squeeze on states leading to slashed investments in other programs.
Cutting SNAP (and Medicaid, another right-wing target) also makes it harder for eligible families to obtain free or reduced-price school meals, summer food assistance for school-aged children (Summer EBT), and WIC benefits. School meal programs and Summer EBT automatically enroll eligible children using SNAP and Medicaid, while WIC agencies use automated systems to check for SNAP or Medicaid eligibility. In addition, the House Budget Committee has put forth numerous specific budget-cutting proposals, including a $12 billion cut to free school breakfast and lunch programs, affecting 24,000 schools nationwide.
Cutting funding for nutrition programs in order to pay for some of Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax handout―mostly to the wealthy and corporations―is an abomination.
The National Academy of Social Insurance, with support from Caring Across Generations and the Ford Foundation, recently released a groundbreaking report on Designing Universal Family Care: State-Based Social Insurance Programs for Early Child Care and Education, Paid Family and Medical Leave, and Long-Term Services and Supports. The report explores strategies that states could pursue to better support families in meeting evolving care needs over the lifespan. This analysis was developed over a year of deliberations by a Study Panel of 29 experts in care policy from a variety of perspectives.
In this symposium, Alexandra Bradley (Lead Policy Analyst on the Academy Study Panel) and Benjamin Veghte (Study Panel Director and now Research Director at Caring Across Generations) will identify gaps in our care infrastructure and policy options developed by the Study Panel to address them. Elise Gould (Senior Economist at EPI) will discuss her recently co-authored study on value-based budgeting for California’s early care and education system. And Robert Espinoza (Vice President of Policy at PHI) will report on his research on the relation between quality direct care jobs and quality long-term care and propose standards for direct care jobs and workforce policy.
A light lunch will be served. Your RSVP will help us prepare.
What: Symposium on strategies to meet families’ evolving care needs.
Who: Alexandra Bradley, Caregiving Study Panel project
Benjamin Veghte, Caring Across Generations
Elise Gould, Economic Policy Institute
Robert Espinoza, PHI
When: Wednesday, November 6
12 p.m.–1:30 p.m. Eastern
Where: Economic Policy Institute
1225 I St. NW, Suite 600