1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I am concerned about families struggling to put food on the table in my community, and urge you to restore funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that was cut in the budget reconciliation package last July. SNAP provides many of our neighbors with vital food benefits to purchase groceries from food retailers. It serves people of all ages, staves off hunger, and promotes well-being. The budget package cut $187 billion from SNAP — the largest cut in the program’s history. More than 42 million people rely on SNAP to help feed their families. But with these cuts, millions of people will go without and face food insecurity. Families who need help putting food on the table are struggling here in my community and across the country. Over 1.6 million people have already lost access to SNAP benefits since enactment of the budget bill last summer as they face increased “red tape” that makes it harder for eligible families to access benefits. Last summer’s budget bill also took SNAP away from refugees and other legal immigrants, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and young adults aging out of foster care. And this crisis will only get worse as the historic cuts to SNAP are fully implemented. As policymakers look to enact a new Farm Bill and/or possible farm relief, you must also focus on helping families facing hunger. An important first step is to answer the call from the bipartisan National Governors Association and ensure all states have more time before imposing additional SNAP costs on their budgets. Please work with your colleagues in a bipartisan effort to restore funding to SNAP to address hunger in our community.