Dear John,
Republicans in Congress are trying to slash the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as "food stamps," which is a lifeline for working families all across the country.
A MoveOn member and working parent, Ruth Rodriquez, put it this way:
I’ve been working more overtime since March because Congress cut back on SNAP benefits that were expanded during the COVID pandemic. The $17 an hour I make at my 40-hour-a-week job is often not enough to pay for rent, monthly bills, and food costs. Yet we still live paycheck to paycheck. SNAP has been a critical supplement to just make sure I can feed my kids healthy meals.
Families across the country struggle to put food on the table—many of them families with working parents—and it’s been even tougher since the pandemic-related boost ended in March. Sign the petition to tell Congress to keep their hands off SNAP!
Sign the Petition
According to a member survey by the advocacy organization ParentsTogether Action, 44% of parents can’t pay for enough food for their families, and 37% of parents reported skipping meals so their kids could eat. More than half of those surveyed said that they now depend on food banks or similar services.1
It’s upsetting to hear Congressional Republicans say they’ll let the U.S. default on its debt and stop paying bills unless Democrats agree to their budget cuts that will slash life-saving programs—especially when we know corporations and billionaires are not paying their fair share.2
Congress needs to protect SNAP benefits and end these politicized attacks against the lifesaving program. It’s unethical to cut funding and increase barriers to access by imposing work requirements, time limits, and proposals to exclude millions from eligibility.
Add your name now to demand that Congress stops playing politics with families’ ability to put food on the table.
Sign the Petition
As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shares, “Justifications for work requirements rest on the false assumptions that people who receive benefits do not work and must be compelled to do so. These assumptions are rooted in stereotypes based on race, gender, disability status, and class. They ignore the realities of the low-paid labor market, the lack of child care and paid sick and family leave, how health and disability issues and the need to care for family members affect people’s lives, and ongoing labor market discrimination.”3
Food is needed for survival—and that’s true regardless of whether someone lives in a red state or a blue state. We must be able to depend on Congress to work for all of us.
Sign the petition to tell Congress to keep their hands off SNAP.
Thanks for all you do.
–MoveOn
Sources:
1. "'I don't have anything in my refrigerator': GOP debt ceiling plan would cut SNAP benefits," USA Today, May 9, 2023 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/05/08/snap-benefits-gop-debt-ceiling-plan/70186198007/
2. "Inside McCarthy’s controversial plan to shrink food aid," Politico, April 19, 2023 https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/19/inside-mccarthys-controversial-plan-to-shrink-food-aid-00092667
3. "House Republicans’ Proposals Could Take Food Away From Millions of Low-Income Individuals and Families,"
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, March 20, 2023 https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/house-republicans-proposals-could-take-food-away-from-millions-of-low
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG CIVIC ACTION
