Republicans Consider Shifting Cost Of Food Benefits To States, With Cuts Likely | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON — Republicans may ask states to share the price of meals advantages to assist pay for tax cuts on the coronary heart of President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda, a transfer that may doubtless shrink this system and go away some households with much less cash for meals.

Potential cuts to Medicaid have acquired essentially the most consideration in current weeks, however Republican lawmakers are additionally contemplating a big change to the essential construction of this system that helps greater than 20 million households purchase meals every month.

The federal authorities totally pays for the $100 billion annual price of advantages underneath the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, with states certifying eligibility and overlaying about half of the executive prices.

Under the proposal Republicans are contemplating, in coming years, states must decide up a share of the price of advantages — doubtlessly 10% to fifteen% at first – or else shrink enrollment to keep away from having to choose up the tab.

House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), whose panel oversees SNAP, insisted there could be “no cuts to benefits” however instructed HuffPost the concept of shunting prices to states is underneath critical dialogue. He acknowledged it might create issues for states.

“That’s pretty difficult to do because most states have balanced budget amendments,” Thompson mentioned.

For years, Thompson has resisted efforts by members of his social gathering to tighten SNAP eligibility or reduce advantages, however different Republicans are eagerly looking for methods to offset a few of the $5 trillion in tax cuts they’re hoping to approve this yr as a part of what Trump calls a “big, beautiful bill.”

The SNAP proposal suits with a broader effort by Republicans to champion reductions in federal spending whereas concurrently insisting that no one will expertise a direct reduce in federal advantages. Republicans have insisted, as an illustration, that cuts to Medicaid would goal solely “fraud, waste and abuse,” even when unemployed adults with out kids wind up shedding advantages in consequence.

Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), the highest Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, mentioned the SNAP cost-sharing proposal amounted to legislative sleight of hand.

“This proposal would not generate any cost savings – it would merely pass the buck from the federal government to the states and take food away from innocent people in the process,” Craig mentioned in a launch this month.

It’s not clear if average Republicans will associate with pushing SNAP prices onto states. A big variety of moderates have mentioned they might not vote for comparable proposals to cut back the federal share of Medicaid spending.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities mentioned in an evaluation of a model of the SNAP cost-sharing concept that states would in all probability fairly discover methods to keep away from absorbing a whole lot of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in new SNAP prices.

“Because states likely wouldn’t be able to fully fill in the dramatic hole in federal SNAP funding this proposal would create, they would need to take away some or all of people’s food assistance, leaving many low-income households unable to afford groceries,” senior coverage analyst Katie Bergh mentioned.

Shifting SNAP prices to states is a considerably uncommon thought, nevertheless it’s not completely new. In a symbolic funds doc in 2017, the primary Trump administration proposed a state match alongside higher flexibility for states to cut back advantages.

“The Budget assumes the match would be phased in gradually, beginning with a national average of 10 percent in 2020 and increasing to an average rate of 25 percent by 2023,” the funds define mentioned. “To help States manage their costs, new flexibility regarding benefit levels would be provided.”

The price of SNAP advantages has risen lately thanks largely to a big upward adjustment within the worth of advantages in the course of the Biden administration. In addition to the cost-sharing proposal, Republicans are contemplating new curbs on administrative flexibility to extend advantages like Biden did, in addition to stricter work necessities for able-bodied adults with out younger kids.

Separately, the Trump administration has been asking states to disallow SNAP recipients from utilizing advantages for junk meals and soda.