New WCCF Analysis Examines the Recent Cuts and Pending Proposals for Deeper Cuts

As we are enjoying Thanksgiving this weekend, millions of people across our bountiful country will be struggling to feed their families and find reasons to be thankful. Many Americans, including almost 900,000 Wisconsinites, recently took a financial hit when their food stamp benefits dropped on November 1. 

What’s even more worrisome for those of us who track nutrition issues is that the House leadership is pushing for another round of substantial cuts in food stamp benefits that could hurt as many as 6 million Americans. The House version of the Farm Bill would cut the Food Stamp program, known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP (and in Wisconsin as Food Share), by nearly $40 billion over the next 10 years.

A long and heated debate over renewal of the Farm Bill, which funds the food stamp program, now focuses largely on the question of how much deeper the cuts to SNAP are going to be. (A good article in Politico today explains that there are also some divisive issues relating to spending for farm supports, but I don’t think those disagreements are as substantial as the partisan divide relating to SNAP).

A new WCCF paper provides a short summary of the recent cuts and, more importantly, a synopsis of the concerns that nutrition advocates have about the various sorts of cost-saving measures the House has proposed.  Here are a few of those concerns:

• The proposal would end food assistance for many non-disabled adults who live in areas of high unemployment after they have received SNAP for three months if they aren’t working or in a job training program at least 20 hours a week – regardless of whether there is work or job training available to them.
• Proponents have deliberately mischaracterized some of the bill’s provisions as “work requirements.” In reality, those provisions would terminate basic food assistance to people who would happily take any job or job training opportunity offered but cannot find one. The problem is a lack of jobs, not a lack of willingness to work.
• In addition to ending an option for states to exempt able-bodied adults from the work requirement when unemployment is high, the bill would give states a strong financial incentive to terminate SNAP benefits for adults and even for whole families if the parents aren’t working or in training at least 20 hours a week. However, the proposal provides no funding for work programs or additional training slots, and it allows states to pocket the savings from requiring participation in training slots and jobs that don’t exist.

A new round of SNAP cuts would put a severe economic strain on a large segment of hard-working Wisconsinites who have been left behind after the last recession.  Congress should reject the House proposals.

Jon Peacock