Republicans in the House and Senate are proposing to slash more than $230 billion from SNAP and school nutrition programs in order to fund more tax handouts for the wealthy and billion-dollar corporations. But it’s far from a done deal.
SNAP is not only our most effective anti-hunger program, it plays a crucial role in reducing poverty and improving health and economic outcomes. It’s also linked to better education outcomes and self-sufficiency, and plays an important role in supporting rural communities.
SNAP is one of the most cost-effective government programs in existence. Every dollar spent on SNAP generates $1.80 in local communities. Cuts to SNAP and school nutrition programs will have devastating consequences for generations to come.
Individual states currently pay a portion of the cost of administering SNAP, while the federal government pays the actual benefits. Implementing a $230 billion cut could force states to take on a portion of the cost of nutrition benefits for the first time, a radical change in the program that could lead to drastic cuts, increasing wait times for approval for benefits, or put a huge squeeze on states leading to slashed investments in other programs.
Cutting SNAP (and Medicaid, another right-wing target) also makes it harder for eligible families to obtain free or reduced-price school meals, summer food assistance for school-aged children (Summer EBT), and WIC benefits. School meal programs and Summer EBT automatically enroll eligible children using SNAP and Medicaid, while WIC agencies use automated systems to check for SNAP or Medicaid eligibility. In addition, the House Budget Committee has put forth numerous specific budget-cutting proposals, including a $12 billion cut to free school breakfast and lunch programs, affecting 24,000 schools nationwide.
Cutting funding for nutrition programs in order to pay for some of Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax handout―mostly to the wealthy and corporations―is an abomination.
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The two years in edition. Two years and one week ago, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. Today, in the U.S., there is cause for optimism. We see that daily infections, hospitalizations, and deaths all have fallen precipitously – to levels we have not seen since last summer. There are hints of a return to normalcy in our everyday lives. Still: three red flags appear on the horizon.
If you’ve been slammed lately by higher prices on everything from groceries to rental cars and gas prices, you’re probably wondering what on earth is behind these skyrocketing costs. Corporations are quick to blame this new reality on the pandemic, but another major culprit is hiding in plain sight: their own profiteering.
Friday, March 11 marks a convergence of one deadline and two anniversaries – all deeply entwined. By midnight Friday, in order to keep the federal government running, Congress had to pass either a short-term continuing resolution or a full-year appropriations bill. Friday is also the one-year anniversary of passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), a roadmap for how to respond to future crises – whether they are pandemic-related or economic-related, or, as in this case, both. Friday also marks exactly two years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic.
Groups in Missouri are urging Congress to pass a full-year, fully funded appropriations bill, instead of a parade of stopgap continuing resolutions to fund support programs for low-income and working people across the state. Jill Gaikowski, executive director of the Happy Bottoms diaper bank in Kansas City, said many low-income families struggle to pay for diapers. She hopes to see funding included in the next omnibus spending bill.
During this past Black History Month, we reflected upon the notable Black men, women, and organizations who have paved the way for the future of Black leaders but may not have received the same exposure or recognition. We reflected upon individuals whose skills, talents, purpose, and/or studies pushed them above and beyond barriers due to their race. These Black leaders were the stepping stones that allowed generations to follow the opportunity to fill these spaces, giving them hope to know that it not only was possible but still is.
Mainers are urging Congress to pass a fully funded, full-year appropriations bill, instead of the stopgap continued resolutions for the various federal programs supporting low-income and working people across the state. Between 2010 and 2021, many programs serving low-income people nationwide lost ground with inflation taken into account, according to the Coalition on Human Needs.
Short-term budget extensions are often used by Congress to keep the federal government funded, and with another budget deadline looming, community action agencies in North Dakota say it’s time to adopt a different approach, so people who are struggling are not left behind. The latest continuing resolution to keep federal money flowing expires March 11, and social-service groups argued the temporary approach often results in flat aid levels.
The how-our-economy-survived-the-pandemic edition. As we prepare to mark two full years of COVID-19, it is perhaps instrumental to look at how far we have come and why things did not turn out much worse – the tremendous cost and loss of life notwithstanding. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has released an important analysis demonstrating how much worse the damage to our economy and to people in need would have been had the federal government not aggressively responded when the pandemic surfaced.
Out of nearly 200 federal programs tracked by the Coalition on Human Needs between fiscal years 2010 and 2021, nearly two-thirds have not kept pace with inflation. Without an updated omnibus spending bill, said Joree Novotny, director of external affairs for the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, there isn’t enough assistance to meet the need. For example, she explained, monthly WIC benefits for fresh produce for children would decrease from $24 to $9.
We heard a true celebration of freedom in President Biden’s State of the Union speech. The President demonstrated resolve in support of the Ukrainian struggle for freedom – in action, not just words. He also demonstrated what is required in a free and just society: that people can live free from want and fear, choosing their own path and joining in the direction of their government.
Even as childhood hunger was on the increase during the pandemic, student participation in school breakfast and lunch programs dropped sharply, according to a report released last week by the Food Research & Action Center.
Safety and well-being are at the heart of human needs. However, these concepts have not been easily granted to Black and Brown communities throughout our nation’s history and even today. Nevertheless, Black heroes have stepped up to prioritize the safety and well-being of people of color. Born in 1922, Marie Van Brittan Brown was a nurse and inventor of the home security system. Jane Bolin worked in the 1960s to improve the safety and well-being of people of color. Jane was a woman of many firsts in U.S. history. Most notably, she was the first African American woman to be appointed a judge in the United States