1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 would undermine the effectiveness of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by cutting its funding by approximately $30 billion over 10 years. This massive reduction would directly impact up to 17 million children each month who rely on SNAP benefits for access to nutritious food. We know that hunger is a major barrier to learning and academic success. Robust SNAP benefits create conditions that allow students to be nourished and engaged in their education. Furthermore, the bill's privatization provision permitting the outsourcing of SNAP eligibility determinations threatens to disrupt the program's administration by merit staff employees. Maintaining a stable, experienced workforce to run SNAP is crucial for efficient operations and ensuring those in need can readily access this vital anti-hunger initiative. Privatizing this function jeopardizes service quality and accountability. For the well-being of our nation's students and the efficient functioning of SNAP, the privatization of eligibility determinations must be rejected. SNAP is an essential safety net that should be strengthened, not undermined through funding cuts and operational disruptions that hinder its ability to address food insecurity. I urge you to oppose any provisions that weaken this critical anti-poverty program.