Titus, Horsford, Lee want more SNAP funding during pandemic

WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers want to prioritize food insecurity in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation.

More than 100 members of Congress, including Nevada Democratic Reps. Dina Titus, Steven Horsford and Susie Lee, signed on to a letter Tuesday asking Democratic and Republican leaders of the U.S. House and Senate to boost the maximum Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit by 15 percent — a request Republicans rejected in the $2 trillion coronavirus response packaged signed into law last month.

“SNAP is one of our country’s most vital social safety nets, and it will continue to play a critical role in reducing hunger, malnutrition and poverty throughout the COVID-19 health crisis,” the House lawmakers wrote. Dozens of Democrats were joined on the letter by one Republican, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

During the 2009 recession, Congress boosted the maximum benefit per person per meal, and Congress “must make a similar investment” now, they wrote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has voiced support for the effort, telling reporters last week that Democrats “did not get all that we wanted” for food and nutrition programs. “We have more needs, so we need more resources to feed the hungry.”

She called the absence of increased SNAP benefits in the last coronavirus package a “disappointment” at a news conference last month. “We were asking for a 15 percent increase in food stamps at this very fragile time for many families, [but] they wouldn’t do that in this bill.”

On Wednesday, Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) issued a joint statement laying out their priorities for an “interim emergency coronavirus relief” package. They called for “strong additional support for families with a 15 percent increase to the maximum SNAP benefit to help put food on the table.”

A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) did not respond to requests for comment.

Pelosi and Schumer also called for $250 billion in assistance to small businesses, $100 billion for health care facilities and $150 billion for state and local governments to manage the crisis.

Pelosi and Schumer said they wanted $125 billion of the small business cash “to be channeled through community-based financial institutions that serve farmers, family, women, minority and veteran-owned small businesses and nonprofits.” They also called for “improvements to ensure all eligible small businesses can access this critical funding and are not turned away by banks.”

McConnell said Tuesday that he hopes the Senate will approve additional funding for small business relief later this week. The Senate could do so in a way that doesn’t require most members to return to Washington.

A previous COVID-19 response bill, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, includes billions of dollars for nutritional assistance for children and families and authorizes the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ease some restrictions, according to the agency.

In addition to increasing SNAP funding by 15 percent, House Democrats also want to increase the monthly minimum SNAP benefit from $16 to $30 and stop the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken food benefits.

In December, the Trump administration finalized a rule that would tighten food stamp eligibility requirements by limiting states’ ability to grant waivers that extend benefits in areas with high unemployment. The administration estimates that about 688,000 people nationwide will lose access to nutrition benefits under the new regulation.

The rule was set to take effect on April 1 but was blocked by a federal judge, NPR reported.

Two other pending rules would also dramatically reduce the number of people receiving food stamp benefits, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute.

“All three rules, at the very least, should be stayed until the economy shows significant improvement,” the U.S. House lawmakers wrote Tuesday in their letter.