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.
President Trump’s latest budget proposal is out. And it’s every bit as bad as we feared.
Recently, President Trump asked a crowd of his donors: “Who the hell cares about the budget?”
We do, and we think you should too. Why? If the new one is similar to his past proposals, there will be very big cuts proposed for human needs programs. Congress has rejected these in the past. But his plans matter, because the Trump Administration has aggressively sought to carry them out through administrative rule-making and moving or refusing to spend money despite Congressional intent.
In this webinar, you’ll hear from experts about what the Trump budget would do and how it would affect people across America now and into the future.
You’ll find out more about how the President’s proposals will affect low- and moderate-income people through likely cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, housing, help for people with disabilities, education and job training, social services, and public health programs. You’ll learn about the impact of tax cuts – who benefits and who is hurt by the loss of revenue.
You’ll also get tips on how to talk about the choices the budget makes, its winners and losers, and how fairer and more sensible choices can better meet our nation’s needs. You’ll get social media tools so you can be a part of a national debate on the right budget choices.
Speakers:
Tamara Fucile: Tamara is Director for Government Affairs and Senior Advisor for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Tamara helps direct the Center’s work with federal policymakers and with other national organizations on a broad range of policy issues, including federal budget and appropriations, nutrition programs, and housing issues. A great budget expert, she served as Associate Director for Legislative Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget from 2014 to 2017.
Deborah Weinstein: Debbie is Executive Director of the Coalition on Human Needs. In her 16 years at CHN, she has focused on educating advocates about how to engage in critical federal budget choices on behalf of low-income people.
Accessibility Assistance: The webinar will be captioned. The webinar will also be recorded, and all registrants will get the recording link with captions, slides, and follow-up information.