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.
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Watch this webinar here. Slides available at this link here.
Every year, CHN provides training on what to expect from the Census Bureau’s annual poverty, income, and health insurance data, and how to find and use the data online. But the pandemic and the ensuing economic shutdown has complicated the data that’s being released and its interpretation. But don’t fret: We’re tailoring our training to prepare you for this year’s needs.
Join us for a webinar that will put the upcoming Census Bureau release in context and tell you how to use its findings. The Census Bureau’s new data, to be released on Sept. 14, covers the year 2020. But there is also more current data, available this year for the first time, that we want you to know how to use. Together, these sources make the case for the package of poverty-fighting policies proposed for action now in Congress.
The timing is perfect for you to learn about and act on this information – so please join us!
Presenters:
The Context: Economic progress means addressing racial and ethnic disparities
William Spriggs: An economist with a distinguished career in public policy and equity in employment, William Spriggs is a professor in, and former Chair of, the Department of Economics at Howard University and Chief Economist for the AFL-CIO. He served as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor in the Obama Administration, and had senior economic policy roles at the Economic Policy Institute, National Urban League, and at the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
Today’s Reality: We’ll hear from Christopher Wimer and Megan Curran from the Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy and Claire Zippel from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities to learn about current monthly poverty estimates and the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse data showing the hardships households face trying to cover regular household expenses, including food, housing, and utilities.
How to Put it Together: Deborah Weinstein, Executive Director of the Coalition on Human Needs, will explain how to use the data coming out on September 14, and how to combine it with the other sources to make the case for a Build Back Better agenda that can lead to unprecedented progress in reducing poverty.
This webinar will be close captioned. Even if you can’t attend, register and we’ll follow up with a captioned recording, slides, and other important resources that will help you learn about and act on the information the Census Bureau is releasing.
Watch this webinar here. Slides available at this link here.
