Proposed Federal Cuts Would Sap SNAP of Proven Ability to Help Poor, Hungry Texans

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Author:
Celia Cole /(512) 320-0222 x110

May 25, 2011

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With one or more U. S. House-passed, budget-cutting proposals expected on the Senate floor for debate this week, the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) and the Texas Food Bank Network (TFBN) say that the cuts proposed to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps) would weaken the program’s proven ability to help poor and hungry Texas kids and families.

“Texas has the second highest rate of families facing food hardship in the country with one-in-five of our families struggling to afford food,” says CPPP Senior Policy Analyst Celia Cole. “Children are at the highest risk of hunger with one-in-four Texas kids living in a home without enough food.”

Among other budget-cutting measures, the Senate is considering a proposal in the fiscal 2012 budget plan passed by the House in April to cut SNAP by $127 billion—almost 20 percent—over the next ten years (2012-2021). Texas kids and families would shoulder 9.6 percent of those proposed cuts.