Changes To SNAP Could Impact 700K Oregonians, Advocate Claims

Hunger advocacy groups are asking Oregonians to speak up if they're concerned about the cuts Congress could make to food, health care, and housing assistance programs.  The Oregon Center for Public Policy said Congress is considering proposals that would reduce SNAP benefits and free school meals for students, along with cuts to health care and rental assistance programs.  About one in six Oregonians receives SNAP benefits and about a quarter use Medicaid.

Alejandro Queral, with the OCPP, says the proposals aren't really about cutting waste and fraud, as the Administration contends.  Instead, said Queral, they're about tax cuts.

“Extending those tax cuts from 2017 to the very rich will add to the deficit, and will have a direct impact on people's lives.”

One proposal on the table would reduce SNAP benefits for over 700,000 Oregonians by changing how benefits are calculated.  Queral said another would end free school meals for 12 million children across the country, as well as the Summer Food Service Program.  Queral said he believes funding these types of programs is the responsibility of the federal government.

"What the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are proposing is, in essence, playing a budget 'trick' by shifting those costs to the state." 

Queral cited research that indicates policies implemented during the pandemic, like the Child Tax Credit, led to a record drop in poverty across the country in 2021.  When the policies were revoked, he said the nation saw a record increase in poverty the following year.

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