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Democrats and Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee sparred over food aid on Thursday at the markup of the chamber’s version of the $1.5 trillion omnibus farm bill. The issue set off partisan fireworks at the contentious session, during which representatives from both sides of the aisle took to the dais to extol the virtues of bipartisanship while accusing their opposite numbers of throwing those values in the trash. “I served for 26 years in the United States military, oftentimes below the poverty level and using these programs,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) said. “So I will not be lectured...

An alarming study has spotlighted how 42 million food stamp recipients spend their welfare handouts on ultra-processed junk food. Coca-Cola, Sprite and other soft drinks are the most commonly-bought items via the $135 billion-a-year Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a new study says. Candy, potato chips, frozen pizza, ice cream, cookies, and other ultra-processed food dominates the top 20 items, says a report from the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC). Report author Matthew Dickerson says recipients spend 'spend significant portions of their allotments on junk food.' These 'non-nutritious foods' include 'sugary beverages and ultra-processed foods, which can lead to poor...

Steve Moore, from the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, a free market think tank, says Democrats were to blame for refusing 'to mandate work for welfare.' They 'view food stamps as an economic stimulus and/or virtuous income redistribution,' he said. Meanwhile, the scheme is increasingly targeted by fraudsters. A New York Times investigation spotlighted the scammers who use illegally installed skimming machines to lift payment card data from beneficiaries who swipe their SNAP cards through the devices in stores or at ATMs. Skimming cons picked up in 2022, and that the federal government has spent at least $30 million reimbursing stolen...

A previously private poll found that in the event of a dissolution of the French parliament and snap elections were called, Marine Le Pen’s populist National Rally party could win an outright majority in the National Assembly. In yet another demonstration of the growing popularity of the populist right in France, a survey commissioned by the centrist Les Républicains (LR) in December found that the National Rally (RN) of former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen could win between 243 and 305 seats in the National Assembly in the event snap elections were called.

Between 2017 and 2022, the number of farms in the U.S. declined by 141,733 or 7%.. Acres operated by farm operations during the same timeframe declined by 20.1 million (2.2%), a loss equivalent to an area about the size of Maine. Only 1.88% of acres operated and 1% of farm operations were classified under a non-family corporate farm structure. ... USDA defines a farm as an operation that produced and sold, or normally would have sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products during the census year. While the number of farm operations and acres operated declined, the value of agricultural...

(NEXSTAR) – As the clock ticks down toward a potential partial shutdown of the federal government this week, millions who rely on federal assistance for food could be left in the balance. If Congress fails to reach a deal to fund the government, a partial government shutdown would be triggered on March 1. That partial shutdown would impact several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which manages SNAP and WIC food assistance. SNAP, which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, used to be called the Food Stamp Program. The program helps low-income and no-income families buy groceries...

Snap, the maker of the social media platform Snapchat, says it will lay off 10 percent of its global workforce, around 500 employees, to “promote in-person collaboration.” The social media company, which laid off 20 percent of its staff in 2022 and a small number of product employees in November, made its announcement on Monday, amid its shares falling around one percent in morning trading, according to a report by CNBC. “We are reorganizing our team to reduce hierarchy and promote in-person collaboration,” a Snap spokesperson told CNBC. “We are focused on supporting our departing team members.”

54% of households headed by immigrants - naturalized citizens, legal residents, and illegal immigrants - used one or more major welfare program. This compares to 39% for U.S.-born households...The rate is 59% for non-citizen households (e.g. Green Card holders and illegal immigrants).

Mike Johnson‘s new role as House speaker heightens the chances of a major political clash next year over one of the nation’s largest welfare programs and the government’s preeminent aid package for farmers and rural America.The fallout is likely to reverberate in countless congressional races, not to mention President Joe Biden’s attempts to win back rural voters in the 2024 presidential race.

(WHNT) — The millions of people who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help cover the cost of groceries and other necessities are about to get a bump in their benefits starting on Oct. 1. SNAP, which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, used to be called the Food Stamp Program. Next month, the benefits will automatically rise to reflect the recent changes in the cost of living due to high inflation. Benefit changes will be based on the Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for June 2022. According to a report from Forbes Advisor,...

Events of recent years have emphasized the health imperative of ensuring the well-being of our most vulnerable citizens, especially our children. Every child deserves a chance to grow, learn and thrive, unburdened by the shackles of hunger. This is a call to action — a plea to Congress to safeguard the future by protecting and strengthening the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP has long been a lifeline for millions of American families struggling to make ends meet. It helps countless parents supplement their household budgets. This, in turn, helps disrupt the cycle of poverty. By providing families with the...

The Biden administration’s massive expansion of food stamp benefits is linked to at least a 15% rise in grocery prices, a new study said on Thursday. President Biden’s Department of Agriculture rolled out revised nutritional standards for federal food benefits in 2021 that expanded the program by roughly 25% from pre-COVID pandemic levels. Overall spending on the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) more than doubled between 2019 and 2022, according to findings from the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) previewed by Fox News Digital. It went from $4.5 billion in 2019 to $11 billion in 2022, the study said.

Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee on Monday called on Republican leaders to stop threatening cuts to SNAP benefits with less than two months to finish up the 2023 farm bill, and warned that continued threats could jeopardize the prospects for progress on the bill. In a letter addressed to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the 25 Democrats on the committee expressed concerns about comments from McCarthy’s leadership team threatening potential cuts to the largest U.S. food aid program to low-income Americans and asked the speaker not to interfere with the committee’s work.

This chart shows a view of problem reports submitted in the past 24 hours compared to the typical volume of reports by time of day. It is common for some problems to be reported throughout the day. Downdetector only reports an incident when the number of problem reports is significantly higher than the typical volume for that time of day. Visit the Downdetector Methodology page to learn more about how Downdetector collects status information and detects problems.

The majority of Americans want even higher amounts of food aid for struggling families, according to a new poll from the Save the Children Action Network. The survey, shared exclusively to The Hill, could be a warning sign for conservatives seeking to cut payments under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as part of the discussion on a new farm bill this year. “It’s important to note: If anything, most people would opt to increase benefits. Only 4 percent wanted to decrease them,” said Lori Weigel, who runs the Republican polling firm New Bridge Strategy, one of the firms that...

On Friday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Sound On,” White House Council of Economic Advisers member Heather Boushey said that it is crucial that veterans and homeless people were spared the “onerous work requirements” for SNAP benefits in the debt limit and that it appears as though access to food stamps will increase on the whole, but estimates at this point are “very, both preliminary and subject to variance.” Boushey said, [relevant remarks begin around 4:30] “Listen, the important thing here is that the president focused on maintaining his priorities. And certainly, making sure that veterans have access, that homeless folks have...

More than half of all students, and nearly 40 percent of all faculty at New Mexico’s higher education institutions don’t have enough food to eat. The findings, from a new state-funded study, reveal troubling statistics representative of a worsening problem across America. New Mexico is taking steps to address it — and other states should pay attention. We’ve known about the problem of food insecurity among U.S. college students for a while. But the New Mexico research casts a wider spotlight on hunger’s broader impact on higher education teachers and administrators. It’s yet another data point that shows just how...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is calling for Congress to reform the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in an effort to prohibit the purchases of junk food with federal benefits. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Tuesday, the senator cited U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data that 20 percent of the program’s spending goes toward unhealthy foods and drinks. HOUSE Rubio calls for Congress to bar SNAP purchases of soda, junk foods BY OLAFIMIHAN OSHIN - 05/09/23 10:43 AM ET SHARE TWEET Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) Greg Nash Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) arrives for an all-Senators briefing on Wednesday, April...

* Pandemic-related emergency funding from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, ended this month in most states. * For retailers like Kroger, Walmart and Dollar General, the decline in SNAP dollars will put pressure on discretionary sales. * Add in lower tax refunds on average this year, and shoppers have fewer dollars to spread around. More than 41 million Americans receive funding for food through the federal program. For those households, it will amount to at least $95 less per month to spend on groceries. Yet for many families, the drop will be even steeper since...

Millions of people in the U.S. are now facing the precipice of a hunger cliff. Starting in 2020, the pandemic pulled back the curtain on the tattered state of the U.S. safety net and the millions of families who were falling through. Hunger rates were expected to soar like they did during the Great Recession. But that’s not what happened. Thanks to a pandemic expansion of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, millions of Americans kept food on their tables during an unprecedented public health and economic emergency. These “emergency allotments” made food easier to access and increased the number...