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Print, fill in & fax to 202-986-2525 __ Yes, Please sign my organization onto the Letter in Support of the Food Stamp Program. Organization name___________________________ Address____________________________________ Phone _____________________________ Fax _____________________ Person authorizing the organization sign-on
SIGN ON LETTER We are writing to encourage you to do everything in your power to protect the nutrition assistance programs under your committee's jurisdiction from actions in the budget reconciliation process that would add to the already millions of needy people who are hungry or food insecure. We understand that the Committee on Agriculture faces the challenge of reducing mandatory spending by $3 billion and that difficult choices must be made. Nevertheless, according to the most recent federal government measurement of food insecurity and hunger, 36.3 million people in our nation, including 13.3 million children, live in households that experience food insecurity. That represents 11.2 percent of all U.S. households. These numbers have been increasing nationwide, and attempts to cut back the nutrition safety net for these families will make the situation worse. Food banks, pantries, and soup kitchens cannot replace lost food stamp benefits. Therefore, we strongly encourage you and your colleagues to be mindful of the impact of nutrition cuts on the most vulnerable people in our communities and to keep any reductions in such assistance as close to zero as possible. Food stamp cuts will disproportionately harm low-income people, those who can least afford to bear this additional burden. The Food Stamp Program is our nation's best defense against the hunger that can make it so difficult for children to thrive and learn and families to achieve self-sufficiency. While more than 36 million people are hungry or at risk of hunger, fewer than 26 million participate in the Food Stamp Program. Further, more than 95 percent of food stamp benefits go to households with incomes below the poverty line; many of the remaining beneficiaries are near-poor elderly or disabled persons. As you know, the Food Stamp Program has already been subject to major cuts in deficit reduction contexts in the 1996 reconciliation and welfare reform legislation. As estimated by the Congressional Budget Office, almost $28 billion was cut from the Food Stamp Program over six years - more than any other program, and whole categories of persons were denied eligibility or had access to the program reduced. Most of these billions of dollars in cuts continue to affect needy people. Only about one-third of these cuts have been restored. Too many people are hungry; too many hungry people are not getting food stamps; too many people cannot afford to lose even one cent of food stamp benefits; the average benefit amounts to just one dollar per person per meal. We strongly encourage you and your colleagues to do all you can to protect this important nutrition program. Sincerely,
State and Local Groups |