Administration’s Latest Attack on Struggling Americans Would Spike Hunger for 3 Million People

Posted at https://frac.org/news/trump-administrations-latest-attack-on-struggling-americans-would-spike-hunger-for-3-million-people

Statement attributed to Jim Weill, president of the Food Research & Action Center.

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2019 — The administration today issued a proposed rule that would take food assistance away from 3 million people by making them ineligible to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s first line of defense against hunger.

The proposed rule will particularly harm working families with children whose net incomes are below the poverty line, and families and seniors with even a small amount of savings.

This latest attack on struggling Americans once again sidesteps Congress by eliminating SNAP’s broad-based categorical eligibility option, which allows states to streamline the process for households with slightly higher incomes that still experience financial hardship to participate in SNAP. This option for states has been fully vetted by administrations and Congress for more than 20 years, and was most recently upheld in the bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill.

By undercutting this option, the proposed rule will only fuel rates of hunger and food insecurity by taking food off the tables of working individuals and families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities. It will create a sicker and poorer nation by denying struggling households the food assistance they need for a healthy, productive life. It will put children’s health and learning at risk by removing their access to healthy school meals. It will also harm the economy, grocery retailers, and agricultural producers by reducing the amount of SNAP dollars available to spur local economic activity.

SNAP helps millions of Americans make ends meet. The administration should be building on the successes of this proven program. Weakening SNAP only weakens our country.

FRAC will be circulating a comment platform for advocates to submit comments opposing the rule via its platform at FRAC.org. The 60-day public comment period will begin on July 24.

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The Food Research & Action Center is the leading national nonprofit organization working to eradicate poverty-related hunger and undernutrition in the United States. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.