Take Action: Strengthen SNAP & Protect Medicaid!

Members of Congress are all back in state for the next two weeks. Use this time to tell them STRENGTHEN SNAP, PROTECT MEDICAID, don’t weaken it!

Republicans in Congress passed reconciliation instructions to move forward in drafting an upside-down budget that requires cuts of $1.5 trillion to pay for tax cuts that will predominantly benefit the most wealthy Americans. A few things to note:

1. Reconciliation instructions are not a budget bill. The point of the instructions is that it allows Congress to pass a budget that follows the instructions with a simple majority – meaning it could narrowly pass with only Republican votes. 
2. Several Republicans have come out saying they think they can make these spending cuts simply by focusing on “waste, fraud, and abuse” and without making deep cuts to services. However, the dollar values alone indicate this is impossible to do without making harmful cuts that will impact everyday Americans. Members of Congress have generally agreed on dollar amounts for spending reductions 
3. for each department, but not on how they will accomplish those cuts. They still have to figure out which programs they are reducing spending on and how they will reduce spending.

We can still act to protect SNAP, Medicaid, Social Security, LIHEAP, and other important social services. Reconciliation bills DO NOT always pass. They tried to repeal the ACA through reconciliation and that failed to happen because people spoke up! They also tried to gut SNAP in 2005 through reconciliation and failed. 

Now is the time to act to tell members why SNAP matters to you. 

THREE WAYS YOU CAN ACT:

Click here to find your representatives phone number, email, and website which will direct you to district offices and their social media accounts!

DELIVER A LETTER 

Hand deliver your letter to your representatives closest district office. Send them your letter over email. Click here for talking points and a sample letter.

CALL THEIR OFFICE 

Hate talking to people on the phone? Call after hours and leave a message (but be sure to leave your address if you leave a voicemail.) Click here for talking points and a sample script.

ATTEND A TOWN HALL OR OTHER EVENT

PA Politics keeps a running list of town halls. If you follow your Senators and Representative on social media or subscribe to their newsletters, they usually publicize any tele-town halls or in-person gatherings. 

SO, WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO SNAP?

The short answer is, we don’t know yet. 

What we do know is that improper payments – the vast majority of which are due to program staff errors and households not understanding the rules – do not even come close to the proposed $230 billion in cuts to the Department of Agriculture.  And we know $230 billion is too big of a cut to be covered by other programs in that department, so the bulk (if not all) would come from SNAP.

In order to make $230B in spending cuts to SNAP there would have to be a combination of changing program rules to reduce eligibility, make the application process harder, make keeping benefits harder, reducing the benefit amount  and/or shifting program costs elsewhere. 

No matter HOW Congress cuts spending on SNAP, a cut is a cut. Cuts will either reduce access, reduce benefit amounts, or reduce the effectiveness of SNAP. 

SNAP is the cornerstone of our nutrition assistance programs. Weakening SNAP not only takes away SNAP it also:

• Puts additional strain on the charitable food system. For every 9 meals provided by SNAP, charity provides 1. A 10% reduction in SNAP would mean the charitable food network would have to double to meet the need. 
• Children who receive SNAP and Medicaid can access school meals. Reductions in enrollment means the administrative burden of processing applications shifts to schools. For CEP schools that provide school meals to all students, reductions in Medicaid and SNAP enrollment can result in higher costs to school districts.

Further Resources:

Just Harvest SNAP Fact Sheets

Pennsylvania Policy Center Fact Sheets

Just Harvest SNAP Matters Social Media Toolkit

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