Republican Farm Bill Cuts Will Hit States Across The Country

Rural communities would face some of the toughest consequences under the Republicans’ proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) included in the Republican Farm Bill. The majority of SNAP recipients are working families with children, and taking away their access to healthy foods would make it even harder for them to put food on the table and could  more than a million children across the country to go hungry. Republicans continue to push for cuts to the programs working families depend on while giving massive tax cuts to the 1% and large corporations.

 

See it for yourself:

 

AL.com: 90,000 Alabamians could be hit by food stamp changes

 

“Alabama has 783,000 SNAP recipients, 153,000 of whom would be subject to the new work requirements. According to the Urban Institute analysis, 94,000 people – roughly 61 percent of those potentially subject to work requirements- are currently not meeting that threshold.”

 

WABE: SNAP Work Requirements In Federal Farm Bill May Take Toll On States

 

“Currently, only single adults are required to work or get job training if they’re getting food stamps. In Georgia, that’s just about 5 percent of food stamp recipients. The vast majority of the people living in the 700,000 poor households in Georgia’s SNAP program have children, are elderly or are disabled. A proposed federal farm bill would require parents with children over 6 years old to also fulfill the 20-hour work or training requirement. That means nationwide 3 million more people would suddenly need job training.”

 

WFPL: House GOP Farm Bill Would Make It Harder To Qualify For Food Stamps

 

“But legislation being considered in Congress could create even more hunger among students. A large number of students in Kentucky live in households that get money from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps. To qualify as a family of four, the income limit is about $31,563 a year, and as of February of this year, 613,772 Kentuckians have SNAP.”

 

WKOW: Thousands in Wisconsin could lose SNAP benefits under proposed Farm Bill

 

“A new report by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau found nearly 76,000 people would be impacted in the state. That would result in about 23,000 children, who would also lose out on free and reduced school lunches, according to the report.”

 

KERA: Thousands Of Texans Could Lose Food Stamps Under New Farm Bill

 

“Cooper says she’s also worried about a provision in the bill that would roll back eligibility from 165 percent of the federal poverty line to 130 percent. That would force about 125,000 Texans out of the program, she says. Advocates say these changes could force families to rely even more on food pantries, which are already struggling to help people, particularly in rural areas.”

 

Bangor Daily News: Farm Bill would push food out of reach for millions

“The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Farm Bill would cut more than $17 billion out of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over 10 years. It would either take away or reduce food assistance to about 2 million people. Dressed up as work requirements, the draconian measures in the Farm Bill would hurt veterans, older Mainers, people with disabilities, working moms and even children.”

 

Public News Service: Farm Bill Could Cut Off Many AZ Families from Food Stamps
 

“Around 850,000 people in Arizona rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but advocates for food security fear the Farm Bill, under consideration in Congress this week, could significantly reduce the program's accessibility.”

 

WESA: Proposed Farm Bill Could Take SNAP Away From 70,000 Pennsylvania Households
 

“Two major proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, could cause 70,000 Pennsylvania households to lose eligibility.”

 

KNDO: New farm bill could end food stamp benefits for 60,000 Washingtonians

 

“The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote as soon as this week on a bill that would take away Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) benefits from about 60,000 people in 25,000 households in Washington.”