URGENT: Protect food stamps 9APR18

 
AS long as the drumpf/trump-pence administration is in power and the republican party controls the US Congress we will have to challenge their gop (greed over people) governing philosophy. They want to cut funding for SNAP and if they succeed not only will US active duty military families and US Vets be at risk of inadequate food supplies, so too low income women and their families will be at risk of inadequate food supplies. UltraViolet has been opposing  limiting SNAP benefits to low income women and their families, please contact your representative here and your senators here to tell them to make sure SNAP funding is adequate to meet the need, not cut to pay for the drumpf/trump-pence gop (greed over people) tax cuts for the 1% and corporate America.

The Trump administration is about to cut food stamp benefits--a lifeline that keeps many low-income women from going hungry.

Tomorrow, Trump's Department of Agriculture will decide whether to limit SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program--better known as food stamps.¹ Two-thirds of adult SNAP recipients are women, often working low-wage jobs that are unstable, have no benefits, offer part-time hours, and where they likely face harassment and discrimination.²

But there's good news. The Trump administration has repeatedly backed off from terrible rule changes when it faced outrage. Just recently, public backlash forced them to cancel plans to allow employers to take workers' tips and back off of another proposal to impose huge entry fees into national parks.³

The administration is legally required to collect comments from the public about the plan--if we flood them with comments opposing this move to hurt low-income women, we can convince them to leave SNAP alone.

Under current policy, low-income adults without children or disability can receive SNAP benefits up to three months. Trump's Department of Agriculture wants to reduce that already short time, making low-income people already struggling to find work even more vulnerable to hunger.⁴

This is part of this administration's pattern of hurting low-income women. It has already limited Medicaid (40 million recipients are women) and tried to slash funding for housing assistance (most low-income households with children are headed by women).⁵

SNAP is a lifeline for many of these women--but the Trump administration could destroy that if we don't act.

Thanks for speaking out!

--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Adam, Holly, Kathy, Susan, Anathea, Audine, Shannon, Emma, Pilar, Natalie, Melody, Pam, Lindsay, and Ryan, the UltraViolet team

Sources:

1. The Trump administration takes its first big step toward stricter work requirements for food stamps, Washington Post, February 22, 2018

2. Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2016, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Collateral Damage: Scheduling Challenges for Workers in Low-Wage Jobs and their Consequences, National Women's Law Center, April 2017

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, National Women's Law Center, November 2016

3. In a victory for restaurant workers, the new budget bill includes a provision that protects tips, Mic, March 23, 2018

National Park Service Reconsiders Steep Fee Increase After Backlash, New York Times, April 5, 2018

4. The Trump administration takes its first big step toward stricter work requirements for food stamps, Washington Post, February 22, 2018

5. How Trump's Medicaid Work Requirements Add To Health Costs, Forbes, January 14, 2018

Trump Budget would Slash Funds by 8.8 billion, Ask Assistance Recipients to 'Shoulder' More Housing Costs, Newsweek, February 22, 2018

Medicaid Works for Women — But Proposed Cuts Would Have Harsh, Disproportionate Impact, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, May 11, 2017

Cutting Programs for Low-Income People Especially Hurts Women and Their Families, National Women's Law Center, accessed: April 6, 2018

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Requirements and Services for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents

A Proposed Rule by the Food and Nutrition Service

AGENCY:

Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION:

Advanced notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY:

The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended (the Act), limits the amount of time an able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) can receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to 3 months in a 36-month period, unless the individual is working and/or participating in a work program half-time or more, or participating in workfare. The Act exempts individuals from the time limit for several reasons, including age, unfitness for work, or having a dependent child. The Act also provides State agencies with flexibility to request a waiver of this time limit if unemployment is high or the area does not have a sufficient number of jobs to provide employment. Moreover, the Act gives States discretion to exempt 15 percent of the individuals who would otherwise be subject to the time limit.

The Department of Agriculture's (Department's) policy goal is to address food insecurity by providing supplemental food assistance and helping able-bodied SNAP participants move out of poverty and into work in a manner that is consistent with the structure and the intent of the Act. As described in Sections 2 and 6(d) of the Act, the goals of the program are to promote food security, self-sufficiency, well-being, and economic mobility. In this Notice, the Department is seeking public input to inform potential policy, program, and regulatory changes to more consistently advance this goal.

FIND MORE INFORMATION ON SNAP AND THE PROPOSED RULE CHANGES HERE

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