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Congress must reject any and all funding cuts to essential nutrition programs

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.

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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.

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Unfinished Business: The FY23 Biden Budget and what’s next for human needs programs

April 11, 2022 @ 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

On March 28th President Biden released his proposed Fiscal Year 2023 budget. This budget proposes vital investments in our future while providing for the urgent economic and public health investments that families need now.

Join the Coalition on Human Needs and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities to hear policy experts who will explain what you need to know about the President’s new budget and how it can be the blueprint for congressional action.

The Biden budget tackles the unfinished business before us. It pledges continued support for an economic package needed now, including the expanded Child Tax Credit and EITC, affordable child care, health care, housing, and reduced prescription drug costs and climate change mitigation. And it proposes important expansions of mental health services, affordable housing, education funding, more humane treatment of immigrants, and much more.

The Biden budget shows we can afford the investments our nation needs while reducing the deficit, by requiring the ultra-wealthy and corporations to pay a fairer share of taxes.

You’ll learn about these proposals, and how to use them to get Congress to act on its once-in-a-generation opportunities to pass historic economic legislation that would lift millions out of poverty and reduce inequities that hold us back. The time to get the job done is now.

See slides from this webinar here.

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Date:
April 11, 2022
Time:
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
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Coalition on Human Needs