Jimmy Panetta: “For 40 years, Congress has funded the bipartisan Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. For close to 42 million…”

“For 40 years, Congress has funded the bipartisan Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. For close to 42 million Americans, SNAP provides food security and the freedom to choose what you want to eat, from fresh fruits and vegetables to milk and meat, to sandwich bread and even ice cream sandwiches. But last week, the Trump administration released a budget proposal that would gut this critical lifeline by a third and completely change what food they get and how they get it. Instead of being able to go to the store and select fresh food at the supermarket, the corner market, the rural market, or even the farmer's market, half the benefits would now come in a periodic delivery of a cardboard box filled with cheap peanut butter, canned goods, uncooked pasta, dry cereal, and something called shelf-stable milk. I get that we want to get people who can work to work, but on the central coast of California, 63,000 people rely on over $127 million worth of SNAP benefits to meet their own family's needs. Those same benefits provide local businesses with over $227 million in economic activity. That is why the administration's proposal to change SNAP won't work for the families and the store owners that I represent, and it will not work for many of the Americans that you represent. ____________________”