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POLITICS
SNAP
Add Topic


'I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING IN MY REFRIGERATOR': GOP DEBT CEILING PLAN WOULD CUT SNAP
BENEFITS

Sarah Elbeshbishi
USA TODAY


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Breakfast or dinner?

That’s a choice Ruth Rodriquez often has to make for her family since losing the
extra food stamp benefits provided during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I have been drinking a lot of coffee and a lot of water just so I could spare
my plate of food for them,” Rodriquez, a single mother in Camden, New Jersey,
told USA TODAY.

Since losing the added benefits, the family of four teeters on the edge of
facing food insecurity along with families across the country − a struggle that
could be further exacerbated by proposed Republican spending cuts in the stalled
debt limit negotiations.

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SNAP BENEFITS AT RISK



Congress enacted emergency legislation at the start of the pandemic that allowed
participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known
as SNAP, to receive the maximum monthly benefit regardless of income in an
effort to address rising food insecurity and stimulate the economy.

With nearly $400 in extra assistance, Rodriquez didn’t have to worry about how
to feed her family or give up a meal to make sure her kids – adult child and two
growing teens – had enough to eat.



“When we got the extra food stamps, it was a blessing. It took a lot of the
burden off my back,” Rodriquez said. “We had constant food. The kids were able
to take breakfast and lunch to school with them, always have something for
dinner or if they got hungry in the middle of the night.”



But now, nearly three years later, millions of households are struggling to
afford food as they face decreases in monthly assistance after the expiration of
the added benefits earlier this year.

When her kids ask for something to eat, Rodriquez now cringes because she
doesn’t have much to offer to them anymore.

“It’s hard. Like right now I don’t have anything in my refrigerator,” Rodriquez
said. “I just went out and got a gallon of milk and a box of pancake mix because
I had about $19 left in my food stamps card because I’m trying to stretch it as
much as possible until my next payout.”



To keep up with her bills, Rodriquez, 42, has to work longer hours throughout
the week at her retail job because $17 an hour, 40 hours a week, is not
sufficient to cover her rent, monthly bills and food costs. But even with the
overtime, it's not always enough.

"I have to bring home that extra money if I want to have a little bit set aside
for any other expenses," Rodriquez said. "We’re literally living from paycheck
to paycheck."




PROPOSED GOP CUTS TO SNAP COULD LEAVE MILLIONS FOOD-INSECURE

As the nation rapidly approaches the debt ceiling deadline, which economists say
could result in a catastrophic default, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.,
and House Republicans laud a plan that could cut many off from federal food
assistance.

McCarthy’s plan, which includes $4.5 trillion in spending cuts, would raise the
age limit for SNAP’s work requirements for “abled bodies individuals” without
dependents from 50 to 56. Such a change, if signed into law, could affect nearly
1 million Americans ages 50 to 55, the nonpartisan research and policy institute
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates.



Currently, people 18 through 49 who don’t have children are required to work or
participate in a work program for at least 20 hours a week to receive benefits
through SNAP unless they qualify for exemptions. Those who don’t meet the
minimum work hours requirement are limited up to three months of benefits every
three years.

Households with dependents 17 and younger are among those excused from SNAP’s
work requirements and three-month time limit. But such an exemption is also at
risk of being eliminated.  

More:23 Republicans want to make it harder to get SNAP benefits. Here's how.

Nearly two dozen House Republicans co-sponsored legislation in March that would
impose stricter work requirements for able-bodied adults without children,
making it harder for some Americans to receive food stamps.

The bill, led by South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson, would narrow a work
requirement exemption for households with children, allowing only those with
children under 7 to qualify instead of the current cutoff of 18. The legislation
also would raise the maximum age like in the debt limit plan, but from 49 to 65
– a more drastic increase than McCarthy’s plan.



More than 10 million people – 1 in 4 SNAP participants – would be at risk of
losing their food assistance benefits under Johnson’s proposal, according to the
CBPP.


MOST FAMILIES STRUGGLING TO AFFORD ENOUGH FOOD

Rodriquez is just one parent among many across the nation already struggling to
afford food for their children since the end of the pandemic-era supplemental
benefits.  

While some states let their increased benefits expire earlier, people in 32
states lost their increased pandemic SNAP funds in March.

ParentsTogether Action, a nonprofit parent and family advocacy group that
represents more than 3 million families, found that most households are already
struggling to feed their children just one month after the benefits expired in
all U.S. states in a survey first exclusively given to USA TODAY.

More:Extra SNAP benefits are ending. Here's what you can do to offset the loss.



Sixty-three percent of parents said they found it hard to make ends meet, and
68% said having food on the table was their biggest challenge since the benefits
expired, according to the survey of 550 primarily low-and-middle-income parents
April 6-9.

“Families are struggling," Ailen Arreaza, executive director of ParentsTogether
told USA TODAY. "Losing the boosted SNAP benefits has really hurt them, and the
fact that right now Congress is thinking about cutting SNAP even more –
Republicans in Congress are thinking about cutting SNAP even more – is
ridiculous and just points to the fact that they’re really out of touch with
what families need."

The survey also found that 44% of parents can no longer afford enough food for
their households, and 37% of parents reported they have had to skip meals to
feed their children. Fifty-three percent of families who faced a decrease in
SNAP benefits said last month that they now needed to rely on food banks or
similar services.

“In a sense I’m kind of embarrassed," Rodriquez said. "But then again … I’m not
the only one that’s struggling right now."







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