Defending and protecting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in this year’s farm bill is critical for the well-being of America’s families. In 2023, the continued effects of COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and the avian bird flu outbreak in the U.S. are expected to further contribute to inflation and increased food costs, putting pressure on the wallets of Americans. Unfortunately, the lowest-income Americans, including SNAP recipients, will disproportionately feel these impacts, which, in addition to the 2021 Thrifty Food Plan reevaluation mandated by the bipartisan 2018 farm bill, have led to increased outlays in the program.
SNAP remains one of the most important and effective tools we have to improve food security and nutrition in this country, and even as necessity and cost increase, the program continues to provide net economic benefits for individuals and communities. Despite its track record of reducing hunger, creating jobs, and having a positive economic impact on the communities where SNAP is used, a chorus of partisan voices is calling for aggressive cuts to the program. Recently, some Republicans have proposed cutting spending by enacting stricter work requirements for SNAP beneficiaries, claiming it would reduce “waste.” But calls to gut the program and add onerous work requirements are disconnected from reality.
SNAP already has strict work requirements, including a three-year prohibition on participation for non-senior, non-disabled participants who are unable to find work within three months. Nearly all SNAP recipients who can work, do work. More than two-thirds — 68 percent — of Americans participating in SNAP are children, seniors, or people with disabilities and not expected to work. And 74 percent of those who are expected to work do so within a year of receiving SNAP.
If Republicans are successful at weighing the program down with unnecessary additional work requirements, the people most impacted will be veterans, teenagers aging out of foster care, and others who face barriers to work including those with mental health issues. Simply put, adding additional, punitive work requirements to SNAP serves only to punish the most vulnerable among us. And who would view feeding American families as wasteful?
Beyond helping approximately 42 million Americans put food on their tables each year, SNAP also has tremendous positive impacts on our economy. SNAP spending helps to support a robust national economy by returning $1.50 for each dollar spent. It also generates thousands of jobs across the country in grocery, transportation, manufacturing, and other industries each year. Further, SNAP has an outsized economic impact in rural communities. SNAP spending increases rural economic output by 1.25 percent and rural employment by 1.18 percent annually and has a stronger impact on poverty in rural counties than in non-rural counties. We must ensure that rural communities experience economic growth too.
It is also important to note that SNAP has long-term benefits for participants and households. Food insecurity can have serious long-term detrimental impacts on individuals’ health and well-being, leading to higher incidences of chronic diseases and increased health care costs. Participation in SNAP, on the other hand, is linked to improved short- and long-term health outcomes. Studies have found that SNAP participation is associated with missing fewer days of work and attending more preventative checkups, fewer doctors’ office visits overall for adults, and children receiving benefits have reduced likelihood of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes in adulthood.
House Democrats’ commitment to SNAP is not new. When Republicans went too far in cutting nutrition programs during the 2018 farm bill process, we stood united in opposition and the bill failed on the House floor. The final 2018 farm bill rejected cuts to the program and the expansion of already strict work requirements. Let me be clear: Democrats will roundly reject such efforts again.
With the expiration of many farm bill programs quickly approaching, we cannot allow partisan games to slow us down and stand in the way of a bipartisan farm bill that will benefit all Americans. We hope that due consideration will be given to the immense positive impact SNAP has on the lives of tens of millions of Americans as well as its beneficial impact on our nation’s economy.
Scott represents Georgia’s 13th District and is ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee.