If the Farm Bill to be considered in the House Committee on Agriculture on May 23 becomes law, it will mean a cut of nearly $30 billion in future SNAP benefits over a decade.
Such cuts are unconscionable. For many children, they will make learning more difficult and lead to negative health outcomes. They will force families and older adults to choose between putting food on the table and paying for other expenses such as rent, utility bills, or prescription drugs. They will also harm our economy, removing the stimulative benefits of SNAP and even hurting farmers and ranchers along the way.
SNAP is the most effective anti-hunger program in the U.S. It reduces hunger by 30% and provides nutritious meals to one-quarter of America’s children.
The House bill makes these cuts by limiting the USDA’s ability to update the Thrifty Food Plan, which determines SNAP benefit levels, to reflect the real costs of a nutritious diet, based on science, along with reflecting food prices that remain stubbornly high. This will make it tougher for families experiencing food insecurity as well as the food banks that aid them. These would be the largest cuts to SNAP benefits in almost 30 years if enacted. In addition, these changes will trigger more than $500 million in cuts to Summer EBT, which provides grocery benefits to children in low-income families during the summer when schools are closed, along with $100 million in cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides food for food banks and food pantries to distribute to individuals and families.
The House bill also would allow states to let private corporations take over determining eligibility for SNAP. Where this has been tried, replacing merit-based staff resulted in corporate skimping on careful help to people applying for or renewing benefits in order to maximize profits. It would also reverse previously enacted steps to reduce agriculture-caused greenhouse gas emissions.
During this time when many families grapple with the cost of housing and food, Congress must do everything in its power to provide relief to those who need it most.
Click “Start Writing” to send a message to Congress urging them to reject any and all cuts to nutrition programs in the FY2025 Farm Bill.
Did you miss CHN’s annual webinar on using new Census surveys about poverty, income, and health from 2019 and 2020? Don’t fret! Sign up here to receive a captioned recording of the webinar along with further resources and follow-up materials. Webinar description below:
Wednesday, September 9, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. ET
All registrants will receive the webinar’s recording, slides, and extra information. The webinar will be close-captioned.
In 2019, unemployment averaged 3.7 percent. In July 2020, it was 10.2 percent. The pandemic blew a hole in our economy. In mid-September, the Census Bureau will release its annual poverty, income, and health insurance statistics for 2019. Census has also collected new Household Pulse survey data, telling us about economic security now. There’s a lot we can learn from 2019, while still recognizing that conditions are painfully different for millions of Americans today.
This webinar will prepare you for what we’ll learn about 2019, how to get and use the data for your state or city, and how it compares to new data showing alarming numbers of households with less earnings, going without food, falling behind in rent, and lacking health insurance.
Nationally known economist Jared Bernstein will predict what we can expect to see in the 2019 data and compare it to today’s economic crisis. Poverty expert Arloc Sherman will tell you how to use the new Household Pulse survey (with national, state and city data since the pandemic’s onset). Debbie Weinstein, expert Census data trainer, will provide hands-on guidance on how to use – and how to talk about – the data coming out in September.
Speaker Bios:
Jared Bernstein joined the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in 2011 as a Senior Fellow. From 2009 to 2011, Bernstein was the Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, Executive Director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, and a member of President Obama’s economic team. He is the author and coauthor of numerous books for both popular and academic audiences, including Getting Back to Full Employment: A Better Bargain for Working People, and Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed? Bernstein has published extensively in various venues, including the New York Times and Washington Post. He is an on-air commentator for the cable stations CNBC and MSNBC, and hosts On The Economy (jaredbernsteinblog.com).
Arloc Sherman is Vice President of Data Analysis and Research at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, focusing on family income trends, income support policies, and the causes and consequences of poverty. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on National Statistics Panel to Review and Evaluate the 2014 Survey of Income and Program Participation’s Content and Design. Prior to joining the Center in 2004, Sherman worked for 14 years at the Children’s Defense Fund. His book Wasting America’s Future was nominated for the 1994 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award.
Deborah Weinstein is Executive Director of the Coalition on Human Needs. In her four decades of advocacy experience, Debbie has worked on a wide range of human needs issues at both the state and federal level. Prior to coming to CHN, Weinstein served for nine years as director of the Family Income division of the Children’s Defense Fund. Every year, she finds new ways to make the Census data accessible and useful to advocates working on local, state, or federal issues.
Moderator: Ellen Teller, Director of Government Affairs, Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), Chair of the Board of Directors of the Coalition on Human Needs, and best ever fielder of webinar questions.
This webinar is co-sponsored by the Coalition on Human Needs, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), and the Partnership for America’s Children.
Sign up here to receive a captioned recording of the webinar along with further resources and follow-up materials.