Media Contact:
Colleen Barton
cbarton@frac.org
703-203-7843
Statement attributable to Crystal FitzSimons, president,
Food Research & Action Center
WASHINGTON, May 22, 2025 — Today’s passage of the House budget bill marks a devastating reversal in the fight against hunger in America. The vote along party lines (215–214) to upend the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by permanently changing its structure and cutting $300 billion over the next decade will take food off the table for millions of families, children, older adults, veterans, and people with disabilities while also harming farmers, grocers, state and local governments, and the overall economy.
Our nation’s budget should not be balanced on the backs of those already struggling to make ends meet. A nation as prosperous as ours can and must do better. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it must be opposed.
It is incomprehensible that some in Congress ignored heartfelt stories from people facing hunger, those working with struggling families, and data and facts from the anti-hunger, health, and education communities, state and local governmental entities, and farm, food, and other sectors on the impact these cuts would have on over 42 million people struggling with food insecurity.
Slashing SNAP by nearly 30 percent is not a cost-savings. By cutting funding for our nation’s most effective anti-hunger program, this bill has opened the door for millions of older adults skipping meals to afford medication, because they were unable to find a job within the new three-month time limit. Millions of parents will be left to make impossible choices between paying rent and buying groceries, and millions of children could lose direct access to free school meals that fuel their health and learning.
Food banks and community organizations, already stretched thin, cannot fill the huge gap that will be widened. And neither will states. For every meal that a food bank provides, SNAP provides nine.
Currently, SNAP benefits are fully federally funded and SNAP administration is split 50–50 between federal and state governments. Yet, this bill shifts SNAP program benefit costs to states and increases the state administrative cost-share to 75 percent. States do not have the funds to take on these new costs. These additional, and significant, expenses would force states to choose between raising taxes, cutting other programs, or limiting SNAP access.
The bottom line is this bill would end up costing America. Rural communities would be disproportionately impacted. We would see higher rates of hunger and poverty, increased health care costs, reduced academic outcomes, less productivity, and an economy that will be hit hard. This cut would harm Americans today and harm America’s future tomorrow.
If we are serious about building a stronger, healthier, and resilient society, then ensuring everyone has the nutrition they need to thrive must be a national priority. This can only be achieved by strengthening SNAP, not by subjecting it to the largest cut in program history.
Hunger in this country is a policy choice. We implore the Senate to stop this cruel and harmful bill from moving forward, and instead, protect SNAP and build on the bi-partisan gains that have been made in the fight against hunger.
