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.
An archive of this webinar is available here.
The Affordable Care Act. Medicaid. Medicare. SNAP. SSI. Tax rates for the wealthy and corporations. The new Congress wants to repeal, restrict and/or cut all of these. How will they use their rules to try to carry all this out? And how will Senators who oppose these goals try to stop the cuts?
Presenters:
Ellen Nissenbaum, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Deborah Weinstein, Coalition on Human Needs
Representative Jim McGovern
Moderator: Ellen Teller, Food Research and Action Center
What you’ll learn:
The new Congress will try to repeal the Affordable Care Act in January, so President Trump can sign it soon after his inauguration, and enact some kind of replacement later. They will use budget rules to try to get the repeal done with a simple majority. Ellen Nissenbaum, a renowned expert on the congressional budget rules, will explain how the rules work, and what leverage points may exist for opponents. Some actions can pass with only 51 Senators; many others require 60 votes to pass. These rules affect the strategies over plans to cut/restrict critically important human needs programs, as well as gigantic tax cut proposals. Advocates need to understand the rules, to work effectively with congressional allies to hold off extreme proposals. Deborah Weinstein will talk about advocacy strategies we can use together.