Today's Food Stamp Cuts Are Only the Beginning

Arit John, Nov 1, 2013

 

Today 47 million Americans on food stamps will see their benefits slashed by 13 percent as the program takes a $5 billion budget hit. If Republicans have their way, this could just be the beginning. The GOP-led House wants to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by $39 billion over the next ten years, which would lower the cap on benefits and boot 4 million people from the program altogether. Though food security has yet to reach pre-recession levels, there will be more cuts to the program over the next few years. The only question is how steep they'll be.

This cut marks the end of increased funding for the program provided by the 2009 Recovery Act. Better known as the Stimulus, the Recovery Act raised the maximum cap on food stamp aid and gave the program's funding a $45.2 billion boost. Between 2007 and 2012 the number of individuals on food stamps rose from 26 million to almost 47 million, and the average benefits rose from $96.18 to $133.41.