Share Our Strength’s Lisa Davis on the House Farm Bill

Contacts:
Christy Felling at 202.320.4483 or cfelling@strength.org

04/13/18, WASHINGTON, DC – This week, members of the House Agriculture Committee introduced the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R. 2), known as the Farm Bill. This legislation includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nutrition program that provides a grocery benefit to people experiencing financial hardship; a majority of these recipients are children, senior citizens and people with disabilities. The following is a statement from Share Our Strength’s Senior Vice President, Lisa Davis, about the impact this proposed legislation would have on American families.

“The proposed Farm Bill released by the House Agriculture Committee this week contains changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that could ultimately make it harder for low-income families to meet their basic nutrition needs. There are some positive aspects to the bill, including increases in the earned-income deduction and asset limits that allow people to accumulate modest savings. We also appreciate that this legislation recognizes the critical role job training and work support programs play in helping people move out of poverty. We feel, however, that these bright spots are eclipsed by cuts to benefits and eligibility, and harsh and unfeasible work requirements that would ultimately increase hunger and poverty in our nation.

We are concerned that this legislation could:

Hurt poor working families. The legislation would eliminate the provision known as Broad Based Community Eligibility (BBCE), a policy that provides states with flexibility to help working families with low-wage jobs phase out of SNAP rather than facing a hard cut-off. This is especially important in areas with high childcare and housing costs. While the legislation contains some positive benefit enhancements for working families, the net effect is that many could lose SNAP and face additional hurdles to getting back on their feet. We must retain BBCE to protect benefit access for these working households.

Lead to tens of thousands of children losing school meals. Children in families receiving SNAP are automatically certified to receive free school meals. Working families who lose SNAP eligibility because of the elimination of BBCE face a double whammy as their children could lose access to food both at home and at school, directly increasing childhood hunger.

Punish people struggling to find work. We can all agree that a good job is the best pathway out of hunger and poverty. The expanded work requirements in this legislation, however, are punitive, would create an underfunded mandate and significant administrative burden on states, which is more likely to lead to benefit loss rather than increased employment and a meaningful pathway out of poverty.

For example, adults will be required to work or participate in a training program for 20 hours a week to receive benefits. Dipping below this 20-hour mark means being kicked out of SNAP for a full year. This means the single mom who needs to miss a few days of work to care for a sick kid would lose access to food assistance for a year. It means a worker in a rural area who misses a few days of work thanks to a broken transmission, or a shift worker who sees their hours cut during a slow period would also lose access to benefits for 12 months. If it happens twice, these workers would be locked out of SNAP for 3 years.

America’s poor face many barriers to work, including prohibitive childcare costs, a lack of marketable skills, inconsistent hours, or limited employment options. While expanded training and employment services and casework are important, taking food assistance away from people because they are out of work will only make it harder for them to get back on their feet.

SNAP is a lifeline for families in America, helping to keep food on the table even during times of financial hardship. For children, the SNAP impact goes far beyond simply filling a growling stomach. Research shows that the food children receive through SNAP benefits can put them on a path to a brighter future, with an impact on brain development, test scores and long-term health. This program helps a child grow up healthier, smarter and more likely to break the cycle of poverty.

We urge Congress to support SNAP in the final Farm Bill and protect the program from any benefit cuts or structural changes that make it harder for low-income Americans to get the basic nutrition they need.”