SNAP Benefits Still Withheld from Seniors in 2 Dozen Democratic States-

SNAP Benefits Still Withheld from Seniors

27% of SNAP RECIPIENTS are Seniors

How will Seniors Suffer from the Continued SNAP Cut in Democratic States?

The Trump administration will withhold particular Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding from nearly two dozen states led by Democrats if they don’t provide personal information about the nutrition program’s recipients, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 2

Rollins said in the televised meeting that the federal government would withhold funds from states that did not comply with its requests starting next week. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) later clarified that only funds sent to cover the program’s administrative costs, split between the agriculture department and states, would be withheld, not funds for benefits themselves.

Twenty-nine Republican-led states had already sent the requested personal data, which includes immigration status and Social Security numbers, while 21 Democratic-led states had not, Rollins said. The USDA revised those numbers in a Dec. 3 statement sent to USA TODAY, which said 28 states and Guam had supplied the information, while 22 “blue states,” including California, New York, and Minnesota, had not.

27% of seniors who lost SNAP benefits during the shutdown. These elders will still be negatively affected by SNAP cuts, including reduced food benefits, increased food insecurity, and higher out-of-pocket food and healthcare costs, all during the holiday season. The cuts, which include structural changes and new work requirements, will make it harder for many seniors to qualify for and maintain benefits, especially those aged 55-64. This could lead to difficult choices between food and other necessities, such as medication, and force many to rely more heavily on Medicaid, potentially making it harder for states to fund essential services like home and community-based long-term care. 

Snap benefits are still withheld from seniors in 2 dozen Democratic states.

How will Seniors Suffer from the Continued SNAP Cut in Democratic States?

Trump is putting coal in seniors’ stockings instead of oranges.

How will Seniors Suffer from the Continued SNAP Cut in Democratic States? Among households with an elderly person who will lose SNAP benefits, 75 percent rely on Social Security, and 35 percent rely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the federal program that provides. That means they already could not buy enough food to get through a week without SNAP Help.

According to the Oregon Capital Insider,

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin next week to block nutrition assistance funding for states led by Democrats that have not provided data on fraud in the program, Secretary Brooke Rollins told President Donald Trump at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. USDA sought data from states earlier this year related to their administration of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits, Rollins said Tuesday. She added that the data was needed to address fraud that she called “rampant” in the program that helps 42 million people afford groceries. Most states complied with the request, but 21, run mainly by Democrats, refused, she said. A USDA spokesperson later implied the department was missing data from 22 states. The federal government will be pouring coal into Seniors’ stockings, along with a Scrooge-like Christmas or Hanukkah dinner, as elders do not have enough food stamps to afford holiday food.

Find out more about Cathy Cress, MSW, at her website