| Photo by CDC on Unsplash
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on May 22 on a proposal to cut $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
SNAP provides food assistance to over 42 million people, including 20 million children. The proposed cuts are part of a massive budget reconciliation package, including a $715 billion cut to Medicaid. Congress seeks to slash $1.5 trillion from this year’s budget to support President Donald Trump’s plan of over $4 trillion in tax breaks over the next decade.
The House Rules Committee will review the plan on May 21, 2025. Hard-line Republicans have proposed deeper cuts to the Medicaid budget. But, according to several news sources, Trump was overheard telling Republicans May 20: “Don’t f**k with Medicaid.”
’Pediatricians Are Losing Sleep’
SNAP benefits are provided to working families, seniors, and disabled people. Families must be below 130% of the federal poverty line to qualify. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for SNAP assistance.
”Pediatricians are losing sleep over these proposed cuts,” said Dr. Sue Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, at a press conference May 20 organized by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. One in 5 households currently suffers from food insecurity, and that number would increase exponentially if the SNAP budget is slashed, she noted.
“We know first-hand that SNAP keeps children healthy,” said Kressly, noting that hunger impacts a child’s development and learning ability. In the long term, as families are forced to decide between putting dinner on the table or seeing a doctor, children’s health will decline and chronic diseases will return, she said.
”Nutritious food is medicine. I urge Congress to reject these cuts. The children of America are relying on us,” said Kressly.
State Funding
Currently, SNAP is entirely supported by federal dollars. But beginning in 2028, 5 to 25% of SNAP funding will be derived from states. This may force many lower-income states to drop out of the program, said Ty Jones Cox, Vice President for Food Assistance at the CBPP. Many states have already said they cannot backfill the federal cuts to SNAP.
Jones Cox noted that the proposed 30% slash in SNAP’s budget was the largest in the program’s 50-year tenure.
School Lunch
Jones Cox said that children who qualify for free lunch programs are disqualified once they lose their SNAP benefits, determining eligibility. Furthermore, if a school lacks sufficient enrollees for its nutrition program, it may face disqualification.
The panelists noted that the cuts will affect farmers, grocers, and food banks downstream.
“The overall impact of the Republican budget plan deeply hurts people in low wage jobs, provides only modest help to the middle class, and showers wealth onto the already wealthy,” said Sharon Parrott, president of the CBPP.
— American Community Media
