Increasing hunger is a policy choice. The Big Ugly Bill already imposed the largest SNAP cut in the program’s history, and now, with the shutdown, millions more are at risk of losing access to the nutrition program when funding is depleted in two weeks.
The administration can―and must―take steps to protect SNAP benefits. SNAP running out of money would be catastrophic. Nearly 1 in 8 people, including 16 million children and 8 million people with disabilities, would go without the food assistance they need.
Two-thirds of the money needed to partially fund another month is in SNAP’s contingency fund, which must be used when regular funding falls short. The contingency fund has $6 billion, which is still short of the $8 billion needed to fully fund SNAP recipients per month. The administration can use other measures to ensure families get full November benefits―and they must act ASAP to give states guidance and enough time to get families the help they need to put food on the table.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration, via the United States Department of Agriculture, moved $300 million to WIC, the nutrition program that serves women, infants, and children. It’s time for the administration to do the same for SNAP, by tapping funds that are allowed by law to be used for this purpose.
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There are emergencies of his Administration’s making: families unable to seek asylum, far too many immigrants detained, children languishing in harmful detention sites. But there is no emergency that justifies more miles of wall.
CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for the latest on the deal to fund the government and avert another shutdown, a lack of nutrition assistance for Puerto Rico, the President’s FY20 budget, bills to help workers and working families, and more. Click here for a PDF version.
As members of the 116th Congress settle into their new roles, CHN’s member organizations continue to advocate for the policies that will lift families out of poverty, defend immigrant rights, and protect Americans’ health care.
Before President Trump addressed the nation on the State of the Union, we shared five questions about important issues. So here are the answers, plus a little more about what he said.
Millions of U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico have no representation in the Senate. And right now, food aid and disaster relief for Puerto Ricans still reeling from the fallout of Hurricane Maria are on the line as part of negotiations to fund the government and avert another shutdown. 1.4 million Puerto Ricans risk deep cuts to food assistance if Congress doesn’t do anything by the end of March.
The Trump Shutdown is over, but some of its consequences are still playing out. Millions of SNAP recipients will face very real food shortages later this month and next — due to the shutdown itself as well as the underlying inadequacy of the SNAP program.
As President Trump prepares to deliver the State of the Union, we ask five questions.
On Tuesday, Jan. 29, the House Judiciary Committee held an inaugural hearing for H.R. 1, the For the People Act, introduced by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD). The comprehensive bill aims to reduce the role of money in politics, restore ethical standards and integrity for government, and strengthen laws protecting voting rights.
As our nation finally emerged last week from the five-week shutdown, the longest in history, something perhaps significant happened on the exit ramp. Americans, it seems, were reminded that government plays an important role in their lives.
Today, President Trump announced that he would sign a temporary spending bill to reopen the government through February 15. The Senate and House must vote to send such a bill to him, and they are expected to do so, very soon.
Today is Day 35 – hopefully and reportedly, the last day of the Trump Shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers (as well as those working without pay) are missing their second consecutive pay check – although we are certainly thankful that they will receive help soon in the form of retroactive pay.
On Day 33 of the Trump Government Shutdown, reports are spreading throughout the U.S. of tenants being threatened with sharply increased rents and even evictions.