Thread by @rebeccavallas

BREAKING: Trump has issued yet another massive regulatory attack on Food Stamps, again sidestepping Congress to force cuts by fiat—since he didn’t get his way in the Farm Bill last year.

More than 3 million people stand to lose food assistance.

(THREAD.)

Trump’s new proposed rule would dramatically weaken the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), by gutting a wonky-sounding but vital provision called “broad-based categorical eligibility.”

This one’s worth dewonkifying, so here we go.

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The bottom line?

According to the Trump admin’s own estimates, 3.1 million people will lose food assistance if the rule takes effect.

CBO analysis of prior similar proposals tells us hundreds of thousands of hungry kids could lose free school meals too.

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Categorical eligibility (let’s call it “cat-el” for short) has, for 20 years, helped states run their SNAP programs in ways that explicitly help workers and families move up the economic ladder.

Some 43 states have taken it up over the years.

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One key example? Cat-el gives states flexibility to smooth so-called “benefit cliffs” in SNAP, to prevent sudden loss of food assistance when a worker's wages go up even slightly.

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But if Trump’s new rule gutting cat-el takes effect, it would create a sharp cliff, effectively penalizing workers for getting even a small raise.

Let’s look at a hypo to make this concrete (h/t @centeronbudget).

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Take a worker earning $12.50/hr, with 2 kids.

They’re at 125% of the federal poverty level, receiving about $161 in SNAP.

Thanks to cat-el, if the worker gets a 50-cent raise (+$86/mo), the family’s SNAP benefits go down by just $31, a net gain to the household of $55.

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But under Trump’s rule, if the same worker gets a 50-cent raise, the whole family loses SNAP overnight, because it puts them >130% FPL.

They face a net *loss* of $75 per month.

They’re *worse off* after getting a raise.

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More than 30 states currently take advantage of the option in cat-el to smooth benefit cliffs like this.

It helps roughly 1 million people get needed food assistance in any given month.

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Another key example of how cat-el helps families get ahead?

It allows states to lift harsh (and, frankly, pretty economically boneheaded) savings penalties in SNAP.

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But if Trump’s new rule takes effect, states would be forced to take food assistance away from families with even modest precautionary savings.

A couple thousand dollars in the bank for that rainy day we're all told to save for? Bye-bye food assistance.

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Already, 4 in 10 Americans report they would have to borrow in the event of a $400 unexpected expense.

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Meanwhile, research from the @UrbanInstitute shows families in the ~40 states that have lifted or eliminated asset penalties are more likely to have a bank account—and to have at least $500 in it.

urban.org/sites/default/…

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Note to reader: If you’re reading this and thinking -- Wow! This rule seems like a blueprint for trapping people in poverty! – then, bingo, you’re catching my drift.

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Sidebar: One of the richer moments on the admin's press call on the rule was that Brendan Lipps of USDA (accidentally??) said, to a Q about whether the rule would trap people in poverty:

“we’re gonna continue to issue policies that move people back into dependency.”

Yep.

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But wait, there’s more…

The rule is also a backdoor attack on the school lunch program.

This is b/c, thanks to cat-el, kids in SNAP families automatically get free school meals—an important red-tape cutter that helps kids get the nutrition they need to thrive at school.

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For many low-income kids, school lunch may be their only opportunity for a nutritious meal all day.

Studies have shown time and again how vital adequate nutrition is for kids’ brain function, school performance, educational outcomes, and more.

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A quick reminder of the political context here.

Congress—on👏 a 👏bipartisan👏basis—has repeatedly rejected the very change Trump’s proposing in this rule.

Most recently, in the Farm Bill enacted back in December.

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But, as we know (too well at this point), Trump doesn’t give up when he can’t get his cruel agenda through Congress.

Case in point: health care.

After Congress failed to repeal the ACA & gut Medicaid, Trump's done everything he can to sabotage both via executive action.

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Now Trump is using the same playbook to dismantle the nation’s largest food assistance program, brick by brick.

Reminder, this attack comes on the heels of a proposed rule that would take food away from unemployed & underemployed workers 👇

https://twitter.com/rebeccavallas/status/1075748746292576256?s=20

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Let's not forget, we’re talking about a program that provides $1.40 per person, per meal on average in food assistance.

This is what Trump is so hell-bent on taking away from struggling workers and families.

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Meanwhile, let's also not forget that just over a year ago...

Trump’s tax law gave more in tax breaks to the richest 1% -- THAN THE COST OF THE ENTIRE SNAP PROGRAM.

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*cite: americanprogress.org/issues/economy…

So what comes next?

Once again, this is a PROPOSED rule, which means we have the opportunity to tell Trump what we think about it (and hopefully stop it from taking effect).

The Trump admin is legally required to read every comment it receives in the next 60 days.

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@amprog will have its handy #HandsOffSNAP comment tool up at handsoffSNAP.org shortly.

I’ll reup this thread once the page is live.

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Can’t wait?

Follow #HandsOffSNAP for lots more from @amprog & our partners @centeronbudget @fractweets @feedingamerica on what the rule would do, who’d be hurt, and how we fight back.

#TheCrueltyIsThePoint

/fin

@amprog @CenterOnBudget @fractweets @FeedingAmerica *text of rule: s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspect…

UPDATE: HandsOffSNAP.org is now live and accepting comments ——>