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Senator Boxer: Modernize the Food Stamp Program
July 10, 2007
I wanted to let you know that I am cosponsoring the Food Stamp Fairness and Benefit Restoration Act, S.1529. This legislation aims to modernize the Food Stamp Program in several ways so that it better reflects the challenges that low-income Americans face today.
A recent study by UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research found that 2.5 million low-income Californians cannot afford adequate food for their families on a consistent basis. For many of these people, a change in Food Stamp policy could make a substantial difference for them.
S. 1529 would stop the erosion in food stamp benefits that resulted from cuts to the program enacted in the 1990s. It would also enable families to deduct the costs of child care for purposes of eligibility determination. Currently, families can deduct only $175 per month of the cost of child care. Because it has not been adjusted over time, this comes nowhere near covering the cost of child care for most families today.
This legislation also makes adjustments to the amount of resources a family may have in order to receive benefits, and makes exempt certain retirement and educational savings accounts. It also sets a more humane eligibility standard for unemployed, childless adults. These individuals are among the poorest in our country, and often have significant mental health and substance abuse problems. Currently, these adults can receive food stamps for only three months out of every three years. This legislation proposes a modestly more sympathetic standard of six months out of every two-year period.
Finally, this bill would increase funding for commodity purchases for food banks and community food providers. U.S. government donations to food banks have dropped dramatically in recent years, even while the number of Americans seeking help from community food providers has consistently increased.
Food stamps are an important part of America’s safety net for low-income families. With the changes proposed in this legislation, fewer families will fall through that safety net and more will have adequate food resources.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
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