Urgent need to elevate - threatened cuts to SNAP/TANF would harm health & families

FoodSNAP
05/18/23

You may have heard that, based on press accounts, the White House and Congressional Leaders intend to reach a deal on the debt limit and budget negotiations by early next week. We need to elevate and reinforce the message ASAP that cutting SNAP and TANF (TAFDC) benefits is not acceptable in the debt limit negotiations. Cuts to safety net benefits would harm health for low-income families and increase hardship, hunger, and poverty. This is a critical time to take action!! 

 

ACTION STEPS:

  1. Sign on to the Coalition for Human Needs group letter opposing cuts by the end of the day tomorrow (Fri, May 19)

  2. Share with our delegation your opposition to any cuts or expanded work reporting rules in SNAP or TANF cash benefits as these negotiations move forward. Contact Senator Warren and Markey’s offices and your Representative ASAP to ask them to speak out firmly against taking food away from vulnerable adults and income support from families with children. 

  3. Elevate the message:

    1. Retweet & share with your networks Senator Warren’s floor speech on protecting SNAP, TANF, and Medicaid speaks powerfully to the harm of government red tape, and the fact that attempts to expand or implement work rules only serve to harm families already struggling to get by. 

    2. Retweet this powerful tweet thread on the harm of expanding the SNAP time limit from our anti-hunger champion Rep. McGovern, and see MLRI’s two pager on the extensive harms of the SNAP time limit. 

    3. Children’s HealthWatch put out a powerful statement here.

    4. For more context on the racist history of work rules, see this recent NYT opinion piece: ". How to Use the Debt Ceiling to Inflict Cruelty on the Poor"