Nearly 5 million Latinos who rely on food stamps to provide food on the table for their families will see their benefits go down beginning Friday as a $5 billion cut in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which benefits more than 47 million Americans, was recently approved by Republican Congress.
Beginning this month, a temporary benefit from the 2009 economic stimulus that boosts food stamp dollars will no longer be available. The benefits, which go to 1 in 10 Latinos, vary based on factors that include food prices, inflation and income.
Although the economy has struggled in recent years, the stimulus has provided higher benefits and has motivated many people to sign up. As a result, the program has more than doubled in cost since 2008, now costing almost $80 billion a year. This large increase in spending, however, has turned SNAP into a target for House Republicans looking to reduce spending.
“Since President Obama came into office, SNAP participation has increased at 10 times the rate of job creation, the annual spending on SNAP has doubled, and one in seven Americans now participates in SNAP,” said Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.), who has been advocating for the cuts because he believes the food stamps program is costing taxpayers a lot of money. “This explosive growth in both the SNAP enrollment and federal cost of the program is alarming and requires lawmakers to take cost-effective legislative control measures.”
Legislation passed by the GOP-controlled House would cut food stamps by an additional $4 billion annually and tighten eligibility requirements. However, Janet Murguía, president and CEO of NCLR, called these measures to gut the food stamps program even more “unnecessary and downright cruel” and said they will “only serve to cut off access to healthy food for our families.” She urged Congress to invest in their future by ensuring that children who may need SNAP in their lifetime are properly fed.
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