The Republican Congress Seeks to Make Big Changes to Our Food Stamp System

Food stamps have long served as a bogeyman for Republican lawmakers, who see in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) an example of everything wrong with Washington—namely, in their view, overblown entitlement programs and inefficiencies.

Alas, their time has apparently come. Now that Republicans control the White House and both bodies of Congress, they're preparing to take aim at food stamps.

According to the Associated Press, GOP leaders of the House Agriculture Committee released a review of SNAP this week that suggests areas of the program could see some reshaping in the coming years. Speaking with the AP, Mike Conaway, a Texas Republican and the Committee chairman, said, "There's nothing off the table when it comes to looking at solutions around these areas where we think improvements need to be made."

In particular, the report targets work and other eligibility requirements to receive food stamps in some states that, in the Committee's view, aren't being adequately enforced or are too lax. It also suggests looking at ways to incentivize recipients to use food stamps to purchase healthy foods. A table included in the report shows that almost 10 percent of food stamps are used for sweetened beverages, while 2 percent are used for candy.

These aren't new criticisms, and Republican lawmakers have tried to make changes to address them for years, often only to meet stiff opposition from Democrats. Earlier this year, nearly two dozen states and the Federal government moved to reinstitute a requirement that able-bodied food stamp recipients without children must be employed to receive more than three months worth of food stamps each year. Around the same time, New York State Senator Patty Richie proposed legislation that would prohibit food stamps from being used for junk food and luxury items, while another New York State Senator tried to stop food stamps from being used at strip clubs.

While there are obviously instances of food stamps being, arguably, misused, they are a lifeline for a vulnerable population. Last year, nearly 46 million Americans benefited from SNAP, which cost taxpayers about $74 billion, about double what it cost in 2005 before the financial crisis. Arguments that food stamps are often abused are criticized as unfair in some instances, as recipients who live in food deserts have a lesser degree of choice when it comes to shopping for food. (Some online realtors have been trying to step in to meet their needs.)

The authors of the report insist they aren't trying to get rid of SNAP.

"You will find nothing in this report that suggests gutting SNAP or getting rid of a program that does so much to serve so many," an introductory report to the letter from Representative Conaway and Representative Jackie Wolarski, the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Nutrition, reads.

Conaway also told the AP that the focus won't be on drug-testing recipients of SNAP, a criteria that has been raised in the past. "We don't want to be helping folks on drugs, but then again, folks on drugs have children," Conaway said.

Changes to SNAP would most likely come in 2018, when a farm bill that includes SNAP comes under review. When the time comes, it will be a decision that will be watched by many and a reminder of the importance of down-ballot voting.