Proposed Trump Budget Calls for Deep Cuts to Food Stamp Program

The budget proposed by President Donald Trump last Monday contains a proposal which would slash funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Under the proposal, the USDA would substitute packages of "shelf-stable" food, such as pasta, cereal and canned goods, for about half of the value of the SNAP benefits. Area congressman Tom Reed spoke about that proposal during a recent conference call with area media, including WDOE News. Reed called the idea "innovative"...

Tom Reed: innovative idea

The Corning Republican feels the proposal may solve problems with the nation's current food stamp program, including how EBT cards are being used...

Tom Reed: EBT card abuse

According to Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, that proposal, combined with other program changes, would reduce the overall SNAP budget by $213 billion over ten years -- $20 billion more than Trump proposed cutting it last year...

Joel Berg: creating a new bureaucracy

The Trump administration says supplying packages of government-selected food would reduce costs through bulk purchasing. However, the recent bipartisan budget agreement makes passage of the cuts to SNAP unlikely.