In our nation of wealth, no one should go hungry. We call on the California Congressional Delegation to take decisive action to end hunger and advocate for policies that address the systemic poverty facing our state.
Strengthen SNAP Through Proactive Legislation
H.R. 1753 Lee – Improving Access to Nutrition Act – Repeals SNAP’s three-month time limit for out-of-work Americans.
H.R. 1919 Gomez, Harder, Panetta – Enhance Access To SNAP Act (EATS Act) – Eliminates the outdated SNAP restrictions for college students.
H.R. 3822 Gomez – Allowing Steady Savings by Eliminating Tests Act (ASSET Act) – Eliminates asset tests in SNAP and LIHEAP eligibility, and raises SSI asset limits.
H.R. 4077 Adams – Closing the Meal Gap Act – Increases SNAP benefits by using the Low Cost Meal Plan, removing the cap on the SNAP shelter deduction, and raising the monthly minimum benefit to $25. Authorizes a Standard Excess Medical Deduction for persons who are elderly or have disabilities.
H.R. 5227 Jayapal – Lift the Bar Act – Expands program access to immigrants by eliminating the five-year bar.
California anti-hunger advocates ask our Delegation to support bold proposals that protect and strengthen the child nutrition programs, and prioritize investments in low-income children. Any investments, however, must be made without undermining programs serving low-income communities.
Nearly half of California’s children live in or near poverty, the highest of any state. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the most important child hunger program. The 2018 Farm Bill that rejected SNAP time limits for families with children and gutting Broad Based Categorical Eligibility was a key victory against childhood hunger. Yet, with so many children experiencing hunger, we cannot simply protect the status quo. Child nutrition programs have not been improved since the 2010 Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act.
Together We Protected SNAP from Regulatory Attacks!
Over the past several years, we successfully protected SNAP from regulatory attacks that would have weakened the program and exacerbated hunger across the country.
This cruel rule would have mandated that people with “ABAWD” status could only get CalFresh for three months in a three-year period if they did not meet certain special work requirements. It would have cut off CalFresh for an estimated 700,000 people. Thankfully on October 18, 2020, a federal judge in the District of Columbia struck down the ABAWD rule. You can read a joint statement by the Western Center on Law and Poverty, the Impact Fund, and Pillsbury here.
This September 2019 proposed rule would have changed how states take households’ utility costs into account when determining the amount of CalFresh benefits households qualify for. In reality, this would force people to choose between paying their utilities and purchasing food, and disproportionately and detrimentally impact people with disabilities and older adults. In January 2021, the USDA withdrew this proposed rule.
