Bill Text: NJ AJR104 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Condemns proposed changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Fiscal Year 2019 federal budget.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-04-05 - Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [AJR104 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-AJR104-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Condemns proposed changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Fiscal Year 2019 federal budget.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Joint Resolution condemning the proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the Fiscal Year 2019 federal budget.
Whereas, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, helps qualifying low-income individuals and families, including the elderly, children, and individuals with disabilities, to afford a nutritionally adequate diet and is the country's most important anti-hunger program. Eligibility for SNAP benefits is determined using a complex formula that includes gross income, certain household expenses, assets, and the number of individuals in the household in order to target benefits to those in greatest need; and
Whereas, The federal government pays the full cost of SNAP benefits, but shares the costs of administering the program with the states; and
Whereas, This critical aid helped approximately 800,000 New Jerseyans, including 300,000 children, to afford healthy, nutritious food in July 2017 alone; and
Whereas, One in every 11 households in the State receives NJ SNAP benefits, more than two in five NJ SNAP households include children, and most people who receive SNAP are employed, but nonetheless need assistance in meeting their basic food needs; and
Whereas, SNAP currently delivers an average benefit of $1.40 per person per meal, and has produced long-term benefits for children who receive SNAP benefits in the form of better health and educational outcomes; and
Whereas, SNAP benefits cannot be used to purchase alcohol, cigarettes, hot foods, or non-food items, and many individuals, regardless of their income, including most college students, striking workers, and certain legal immigrants, are not eligible for SNAP; and
Whereas, President Trump's Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget proposes to slash spending on SNAP by more than $213 billion over the next decade, changes program eligibility, and drastically reduces and restructures benefits received through the program; and
Whereas, The proposed cuts to SNAP, combined with the Trump Administration's proposed cuts to Medicaid and federal housing assistance, would adversely affect an estimated 90 million low-income Americans who rely on at least one of those programs; and
Whereas, Currently, many households that receive SNAP benefits can use their benefits to purchase a wide variety of fresh, healthy food at their local grocery store through a successful public-private partnership that includes over 260,000 retail stores across the country; and
Whereas, The proposed federal budget envisions that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) use approximately 20 percent of all SNAP benefits, or about $130 billion over ten years, to provide households with a box of non-perishable food, such as ready-to-eat cereals, peanut butter, canned goods, and shelf-stable milk, in place of the current program in which families can purchase their foods at the grocery store with their benefits card; and
Whereas, This unprecedented "food box" approach requires logistical and operational capacity that neither the states nor the USDA currently have, and assumes that the government can procure and deliver food more efficiently than individual households; and
Whereas, Because of SNAP's economic multiplier effect wherein every one dollar in SNAP benefits results in $1.80 in economic activity, the proposed cuts and restructuring of SNAP benefits could similarly have a negative effect on the economy of the State, affecting even those residents of the State who do not depend on SNAP; and
Whereas, It is estimated that the proposed cuts and changes to SNAP would adversely affect approximately 35 million people in the United States in 2019, and that at least four million people nationwide would lose SNAP benefits completely; and
Whereas, The Trump Administration's proposals to decimate the federal program that has historically been the most responsive in helping vulnerable low-income workers, children, seniors, persons with disabilities, and families in the State, particularly during economic downturns, must not be enacted; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Governor and the Legislature of New Jersey condemn the proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) contemplated in the Trump Administration's Fiscal Year 2019 federal budget.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from this State.
3. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This joint resolution condemns the proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) contemplated in the Trump Administration's Fiscal Year 2019 federal budget.
SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, helps qualifying low-income individuals and families, including the elderly, children, and individuals with disabilities, to afford a nutritionally adequate diet and is the country's most important anti-hunger program. The federal government pays the full cost of SNAP benefits, but shares the costs of administering the program with the states. This critical aid helped approximately 800,000 New Jerseyans, including 300,000 children, to afford healthy, nutritious food in July 2017 alone.
President Trump's FY 2019 budget proposes to slash spending on SNAP by more than $213 billion over the next decade, changes program eligibility, and drastically reduces and restructures benefits received through the program. Currently, many households that receive SNAP benefits can use their benefits to purchase a wide variety of fresh, healthy food at their local grocery store through a successful public-private partnership that includes over 260,000 retail stores across the country. The proposed federal budget envisions that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) use approximately 20 percent of all SNAP benefits, or about $130 billion over ten years, to provide households with a box of non-perishable food, such as ready-to-eat cereals, peanut butter, canned goods, and shelf-stable milk, in place of the current program in which families can purchase their foods at the grocery store with their benefits card. This unprecedented "food box" approach requires logistical and operational capacity that neither the states nor the USDA currently have.
The Trump Administration's proposals to decimate the federal program that has historically been the most responsive in helping vulnerable low-income workers, children, seniors, persons with disabilities, and families in the State, particularly during economic downturns, must not be enacted.
