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.
In an election year, it’s especially important to assess where we’ve made progress, and what’s held us back.
Please join us on Thursday, September 5th, at 1 pm ET, for a webinar to prepare you for the annual Census Bureau release of state and local poverty, income, and health insurance data.
The Census Bureau will release national poverty, income, and health insurance data on September 10, followed by state and local data on these and many other topics from the American Community Survey on September 12.
Every year, it’s important to understand income and health insurance trends – but it’s especially important now, because the nation experienced a dramatic reduction in child poverty as a result of the 2021 Child Tax Credit, only to see poverty surge after the CTC was allowed to expire. What has happened since? Have the Biden Administration’s vigorous efforts to promote Affordable Care Act health insurance, along with more generous premium tax credits, resulted in fewer uninsured people?
We’ll help you get ready to find and use the information coming out starting September 10 – with insightful analyses about poverty and health coverage, and practical instructions on how to navigate the Census Bureau’s website – so you can get the state/local data you need, and know how to find breakdowns by age, race, and ethnicity, and how to show trends over time.
List of speakers:
If you are interested in the webinar but cannot join us, please register anyway. All registrants will receive the recording, slides, and follow-up information. We welcome you to forward this to other advocates who may be interested.