Federal SNAP Cuts and Restrictions Would Leave Thousands of Kansas Parents and Kids without Food
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jessica Herrera Russell
Topeka, KAN. - Earlier this week, more details emerged around how the U.S. House plans to cut $230 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. This could result in Kansas losing millions in federal funding.
The House Agriculture Committee will be making their final changes in the next few days. Kansas’ 1st District Congressman, Representative Mann, sits on that committee and soon will be voting on the committee’s recommendations to the full U.S. House.
Proposals for cutting billions from this critical program include:
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Implementing work reporting requirements for able-bodied adults (ABAWDS) who have dependents age 7 and older. Currently, ABAWDS with dependents under 18 are currently exempt from work reporting requirement
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Implementing work reporting requirements for ABAWDS up to 64 years old. Currently, ABAWD work reporting requirements end at age 55 at the federal level, and at age 60 in Kansas.
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Shifting part of the cost to the states, which would add fiscal burdens to the state budget.
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Limiting cost-of-living adjustments under the Thrifty Food Plan, which would stop benefits from increasing in future years to keep up with inflation.
Each of these plans will take food away from Kansas families who are already struggling to put food on the table.
The Congressional Budget Office has analyzed the additional work requirements and concluded the proposal would take food assistance away from 3 million to 3.5 million people across the country. That would be around 16,000 Kansas who would lose access to food assistance.
Another analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that, more specifically, 14,000 Kansas parents would lose all of their food assistance benefits and 22,000 Kansas kids would lose some of their assistance.
“Work reporting requirements do not mean more people will automatically be able to work,” said John Wilson, President and CEO. “Often, these kind of arbitrary requirements affect people who are unable to work for a variety of reasons, like due to having a family member in need of full-time care or having a disability themselves.”
Decades of research have found no evidence that work requirements increase work or earnings. Instead, they take assistance away from people who need it the most and drive them deeper into poverty.
Additionally, the plan to shift costs to the states would further strain an already tight Kansas budget. If 10% of SNAP costs were shifted to Kansas (as one proposal suggests), the state would need to find $41 million to ensure currently eligible Kansans did not lose food assistance benefits. Higher amounts of cost shifts, like the 22.5% that was recently proposed, would cost the state around $94 million.
Recently, state budget estimates were released showing Kansas running a deficit by FY 2029.
Wilson said, “We’re not confident the Kansas Legislature would be willing or able to pick up these new costs, which would result in tens of thousands of Kansans to be unable to afford food.”
He added, “Thousands of Kansans will be harmed by these devastating cuts. And this is at the expense of handing out tax breaks to the wealthiest households and profitable corporations.”
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