The Collaborative Center for Justice staff submitted an objection to a proposed Trump administration rule change that would leave 3.1 million residents food insecure. See our comment below. Click here to read our explanation of the public comment period, and click here to submit your own comment in opposition to the rule change by 11:59 p.m. on September 23. Follow us on Facebook.
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We write from the Collaborative Center for Justice, a faith-based advocacy organization in Hartford, CT. We write in strong opposition to this proposed rule that would have the devastating effect of taking life-saving food assistance away from 3 million people.
We strongly oppose the proposed rule that would expose even more people to food insecurity by eliminating SNAP’s broad-based categorical eligibility option. Broad-based categorical eligibility has been in place for more than 20 years, through various administrations, and was upheld in the 2018 bipartisan Farm Bill.
It has been vital in states like Connecticut with high costs of living. A 2018 study by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies deemed nearly half of Connecticut renting households as either moderately- or heavily burdened by their housing costs that consumed more than 30% or 50% of their monthly income, respectively. The Trump administration should not punish 11,000 of our Connecticut neighbors because they managed to save a bit in case of emergency or because they managed to pick up and extra shift at work.
According to the Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, SNAP kept 70,000 Connecticut residents out of poverty – including 28,000 children – each year from 2009 – 2012. The program works. Accounting for only 2% of the federal budget, SNAP is a safety net for approximately 44 million Americans, most of whom are children, the working poor, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Under the proposed rule change, 3.1 million Americans, including 11,000 Connecticut residents, would be kicked out of the program.
No one should have to worry about how they are going to feed their children, particularly in a wealthy nation such as ours. We believe that this proposal, which would significantly limit eligibility and take life-saving food assistance away from millions of people, is immoral.
As people of faith, we firmly believe that no one deserves to go hungry. We believe that each and every person is made in the image of God, and we believe in the dignity of every person. Access to an adequate amount of nutritious food is a basic human right. Millions of families and individuals across the country would not have financial access to enough food to survive without SNAP benefits. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is a crucial and effective way by which this human right is protected for millions of people around the country.
As people of faith, we strongly oppose the proposed rule that would expose even more people to food insecurity and hunger. We urge the Administration to abandon this proposed rule change.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Respectfully submitted,
Dwayne David Paul – Director
Rachel Lea Scott, MSW – Associate Director
