
Restrictive benefits and burdensome paperwork turn seeking help into a full-time job. Simple, direct cash payments are much more cost-effective.
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.
Restrictive benefits and burdensome paperwork turn seeking help into a full-time job. Simple, direct cash payments are much more cost-effective.
Nearly 3,000 activists registered for the webinar, ready and willing to work together. We heard from national experts on immigration, child welfare, women’s rights, tax justice, and more, sharing strategies that we must implement together to defend our rights and meet our needs.
We have provided this data so that you can easily find it when you are educating your policy makers about the impact of proposals on their constituents, preparing op-eds or other communications materials, and seeking funding for your work.
Trump and Vance announced last-minute opposition to the spending and disaster relief bill before Congress, threatening a government shutdown and delayed relief. Happy holidays, everyone.
The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) and the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) are urging Congress to prioritize extending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) replacement benefits in the Farm Bill extension within the end-of-year spending package.
I’m a mom of four and have a child with special needs. Conservatives are pushing harsh cuts to programs that families like mine rely on.
Editor’s note: Sherlea Dony is a retired American Sign Language interpreter, consultant on access services for students who are deaf and hard of hearing, and copy editor currently living in Rochester, New York. This blog was distributed and cross-posted with permission by OtherWords.org. I worked hard my whole career and…
As Congress considers legislation to extend government funding, a coalition of national and state organizations are advocating to protect funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Organizations are asked to urge Senate to oppose nomination of Russell Vought for Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The collection of objective, high-quality statistics is critical to maintaining public confidence in the data that underlie our democracy, the fair distribution of resources to all communities, and our understanding of who we are as a society.
Every year, we at the Coalition on Human Needs like to consider what we’re thankful for when Thanksgiving rolls around. There’s no doubt, what we’re expecting to be up against come January inspires us with a number of emotions, and gratitude is not really so high on the list.
Except…to live our best lives, we need to grab onto the people, things, and ideas that give us gladness, that surprise us, take us out of ourselves, make us laugh, and remind us of what endures. How can we not be thankful for the chance to experience all that?
The incoming administration and Republicans in Congress want to prevent tax breaks from expiring and to enact new ones. Corporate interests and the rich are lining up to benefit from these breaks.