1 week Ago
Last month I spoke at a press conference at which Tamika Spears of Richmond shared how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps her feed her children. Her family would be devastated if their food benefits were taken away, but a Republican-led budget blueprint making its way through Congress could do just that. Republicans are advancing a budget resolution that calls for massive cuts — up to $230 billion in cuts to SNAP over the next 10 years — to pay for massive tax handouts for the nation’s wealthiest individuals.
To accomplish this, Republicans are considering shifting SNAP costs to states . A 10% cut to current funding levels would blow a $352 million hole in our state budget and put 827,800 Virginians at risk of going hungry. Our region would be particularly affected, as more than a quarter of the state’s SNAP recipients live in Hampton Roads.
The majority of Virginia’s congressional delegation understand how this federal decision could have serious implications for the state’s budget. Four members who represent Hampton Roads — U.S.
Reps. Bobby Scott (VA-03), Rob Wittman (VA-01), Jen Kiggans (VA-02) and Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) — served in the state legislature and know what tough budget negotiations look like. We are already seeing a contentious state budget fight play out.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin faces a May 2 deadline to decide the fate of Virginia’s bipartisan budget after offering 205 amendments, of which only 33 were accepted. Yet, decisions by the Virginia legislature today pale in comparison to what is coming down the road if Congress slashes SNAP and Medicaid and leaves Virginia holding the bag.
If congressional Republicans get their way, a state budget crisis will be on the horizon. Kiggans, my former colleague, voted to advance this framework, but she has an opportunity to vote no on the final budget. I would implore her to consider not only the 230,000 Hampton Roads residents who are at risk of going hungry if SNAP is cut, but also the burden that these draconian cuts could place on our state budget.
Because SNAP is an investment in families’ futures, it is also an investment in Virginia’s future. Not only does the program reduce food insecurity, it also reduces medical costs and improves health, education and economic outcomes. Each year from 2015 to 2019, SNAP benefits lifted about 104,000 people above the poverty line in Virginia, including 42,000 children.
In fact, 67% of Virginians enrolled in SNAP are families with children. SNAP supports parents such as Tamika, who is trying to better her life by pursuing an education so that she can get a family-sustaining job. Her story resonated with me because it was also my story growing up.
I was raised by a single mother who worked tirelessly to provide for her children. But minimum wage jobs were not enough for her to pay the bills. I had free and reduced lunch as a child.
I remember food stamps when they were paper. Having access to food as a child allowed me to focus at school, because children cannot learn when they are hungry. And because I could focus at school, I got good grades and was among the first in my family to go to college.
Today, I teach graduate students at Hampton University, represent my community as a state legislator, and serve in Democratic leadership in the Virginia Senate. Sign up for Viewpoints, an opinion newsletter Our early years shape the rest of our lives. SNAP played an important role in helping me get to where I am today, and I will fight to ensure that food is not taken away from the families who need it in this season of their lives.
Congress, including Kiggans, must reject any and all efforts to cut SNAP funding that would only pay for tax breaks for America’s ultra-wealthy. Corporations and billionaires should be paying their fair share so that we can continue to invest in this life-changing program for Virginians. State Sen.
Mamie E. Locke, Ph.D.
, represents the 23rd District, which includes Hampton and part of Newport News. She serves as chair of the Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus..
