Cutting Nutrition Assistance Would Harm the Economy

The House Republican budget cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could affect up to 13 million people and cost the economy hundreds of thousands of jobs.

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Idea of the Day

Idea of the Day

The House Republican budget for fiscal year 2014 proposes converting the nation’s bedrock nutrition-assistance program into a capped block grant to the states that would result in approximately $125 billion in cuts over the next 10 years. Forcing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to become a block grant, in addition to the extra $10 billion in cuts to the program within the budget proposal, could result in up to 12 million to 13 million people—mainly children, seniors, and people with disabilities—losing their nutrition aid.

These cuts, however, would not just harm households that are struggling to put food on the table. They would also hurt many businesses’ bottom lines and would cost our economy hundreds of thousands of jobs by reducing demand for certain goods and services.

For more on this topic, please see:

The House Republican Budget Cuts to Nutrition Assistance Are Bad for the Economy by Melissa Boteach

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