The Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP) is our country’s most effective tool in the fight against hunger. SNAP helps vulnerable people food insecurity to pay for the rising cost of food, as well as free up space in their budgets to cover other needs such as housing and utilities. SNAP is a particularly important tool for Hispanic-headed households, which make up 20% of all SNAP households and are more than twice as likely to be food insecure as white households.
Despite overwhelming evidence that SNAP helps lift people out of poverty, Conservative lawmakers are pushing for cuts that will put children, the elderly and other members of our communities at risk. lose a certain amount of food aid.
Dozens of Republicans in the House of Representatives recently introduced a bill that threatens cut benefits for 10 million peopleapproximately 1 in 4 SNAP members, including 4 million children.
SNAP helps millions of children, low-income seniors, the disabled, and low-income veterans. It also helps millions of workers struggling with low wages, long hours or temporary unemployment.
SNAP also helps prevent hardship during economic crises. During the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, when hunger was on the verge of skyrocketing, expanded SNAP benefits and other COVID relief measures have saved millions of people from hunger.
SNAP improves immediate and long-term health outcomes for recipients, especially when it comes to children; for them, SNAP means higher education, higher school completion rates, and better jobs as adults.
And yet conservative House lawmakers continue to push for devastating SNAP cuts. Some even suggested that they would not increase the debt limit, which is necessary to keep our economy stable, without cutting programs like SNAP. Meanwhile, they are pushing for tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals and corporations. It is not normal.
The Republican bill in the House of Representatives would dramatically expand SNAP’s existing hard work requirements. take away food from low-income parents with children over six years of age, the elderly and people living in areas where there are not enough jobs.
Supporters of the bill justify these additional work requirements with the false assumption that SNAP participants are not working and should be working. Actually, most people who get SNAP and are able to work do so. Studies have shown that these requirements do not help people get a job or increase their income. Due to problems in the low-paying job market, people often work multiple jobs but have limited hours; lack of childcare and paid sick and family leave means that illness or childcare responsibilities can lead to temporary unemployment; and continued discrimination in the labor market limits employment opportunities for many workers.
Job requirements do nothing to solve these problems, they just take food away from people.
SNAP feeds those members of our community who are most vulnerable to hunger, and benefits should be increased, not reduced. As the Debt Limit and Farm Bill Debate approaches, we are urging members of Congress to reverse the harmful SNAP cuts that are pushing Hispanics into poverty.
Source: La Opinion
David Ortiz is an opinionated and well-versed author, known for his thought-provoking and persuasive writing on various matters. He currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker, where he shares his insight and perspective on today’s most pressing issues. David’s unique voice and writing style make his articles a must-read for those seeking a different point of view.