Latest news with #LanceCheung
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Get ready for hunger to skyrocket in North Carolina
At a farm market in St. Petersburg, Florida, SNAP recipients were able to use their Electronic Benefits Transfer cards for food. (Photo by Lance Cheung/USDA). It's hard to fathom in a proposal that includes billions upon billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, but one of the most significant changes included in the massive budget bill approved by the U.S. House late last month was this: big cuts to the nation's main anti-hunger program. Under the legislation, millions of people would lose SNAP food assistance benefits. Meanwhile, states would be saddled with 14 billion dollars in new costs. And the impacts will be felt in the stomachs of families across the nation. As Raleigh-area Congresswoman Deborah Ross explained last week, in her district – one of the state's more affluent ones – 20,000 of her adult constituents will lose all of their SNAP benefits. Statewide, a total of almost half a million people will lose benefits and the cuts will ripple through grocery stores and the economy as a whole. The bottom line: Rep. Ross is right. The Republican budget will cause irreparable harm to the people of our state. All caring and thinking North Carolinians should support her effort to push back. For NC Newsline, I'm Rob Schofield.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hunger will increase across America
A new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office says 3.2 million people would lose food assistance benefits under the tax and spending bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. (Photo by Lance Cheung/USDA). Being a freelance writer, I have had my own financial ups and downs. My own experience with poverty, and with paying bills that you really lack the funds to pay, leaves me flabbergasted by the short-sightedness behind the massive budget package that passed the U.S House of Representatives. Republicans and conservatives have been calling it 'a big beautiful bill,' but New Mexico's own The Food Depot, which services nine New Mexico counties, says the only result will be even greater challenges to access food and healthcare.'The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities writes that if the bill passes unchanged, it would be the first time in the modern history of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Programs 'that the federal government would no longer ensure that the lowest-income families with children, older adults, and people with disabilities in every state have access to the food assistance they need.' Local and national groups concur. And I believe them. These organizations point out blatant inconsistencies in the bill's rationale, revealing its intent is not to lift spirits, or instill the down-on-their-luck with training and knowledge. It's to punish them. The most talked about aspects are the additional work requirements for nutritional assistance and Medicaid recipients. The revisions display a grave misunderstanding that poverty is layered, complex and full of pitfalls. Able-bodied SNAP recipients already fulfill work requirements, with exemptions for those who are taking care of children, or over age 55. The provisions in the U.S. House bill eliminate most exemptions, like a clean slate that erases all familial differences, or capabilities. The new provision—which will heavily impact New Mexico, where 61% of SNAP recipients are families with children—orders that any parent with a child over six years old will have to meet work requirements. The new requirements can easily undermine households already in tenuous situations. Obviously, people who qualify for nutritional assistance have even less ability to pay for child care. How much harm will forcing a parent to leave the house and systemically abandon a very young child do? Furthermore if the family or single parent faces a set of circumstances that leaves them unable to meet the new work requirements, what happens? The household loses its SNAP benefits. The bottom line is that this means less food for the child. The proposal promises a drastic uptick in child hunger. What kind of society snatches food from families with children? The bill would also impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients, forcing them to prove they're consistently working, which is basically an excuse for additional paperwork—additional red tape in a system that is already clogged with it. The overwhelming majority of Medicaid recipients already work. A 2023 analysis found that 71% of Medicaid enrollees were in school, or employed, and a significant number of the 'unemployed' were caregivers of some kind, staying at home for the sake of sick family members. Healthcare furthermore is a human right that should be available to all Americans, regardless of income or ability to make a regular paycheck. GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson cavalierly claims the bill is harmless. 'What we're talking about, again, is able-bodied workers, many of whom are refusing to work because they're gaming the system,' he stated on the Face the Nation TV show, and opined, 'There's a moral component to what we are doing.' Alas, Johnson's moral component is based on an obsessive zeal to stereotype the recipients of assistance with the lie that all people who aren't financially solvent are consequently lazy, shiftless or criminal. Like most distorted morality imposed by self-righteous groups, it's worsened by the refusal to examine the GOP''s own hypocrisy and self-interest. The 'big beautiful bill' includes a massive tax cut for the wealthy. It's a matter of cutting services to the have-nots to provide benefits for the very rich. It's a matter of kicking one group off the rolls to afford tax cuts that bolster the other. The U.S. Senate can do better than this, and should reject this ' big beautiful bill' and its contemptuous elitist morality.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Idaho runs SNAP efficiently, officials say. But Congress might make state pay millions more.
At a farm market in St. Petersburg, Florida, SNAP recipients were able to use their Electronic Benefits Transfer cards for food. (Photo by Lance Cheung/USDA). Earlier this month, Idaho Gov. Brad Little said he had thoughts on the 'big, beautiful bill' advancing through Congress. To extend 2017 tax cuts, the bill would deeply cut federal spending for programs, including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Speaking to reporters, Little said he wondered how it would impact Idaho. 'I don't want to be in a position to where the big, beautiful bill passes, and myself and all my fellow governors are going to be back there whining and crying,' he said on May 12. ID governor joins letter to Trump supporting bill that cuts billions from Medicaid, food assistance But he soon added that Idaho would be better prepared than other states — because of the state's stockpiled rainy day fund, and investments in facilities, schools and roads. 'I've said this many times: With what we've done in the past, where we are, almost anything that happens at the federal level is going to impact the other 49 states more than it is Idaho,' Little said. 'And I feel that about the big, beautiful bill.' Last week, he threw his support behind the bill — also backed by President Donald Trump. The bill passed the U.S. House and now heads to the U.S. Senate. It could shift millions of dollars in SNAP costs onto Idaho. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SNAP is a federal program that states run. The federal government pays for benefits. But states already chip in somewhat, by splitting administrative costs with the federal government. 'States have really very little flexibility or options in how to administer it,' the Idaho governor's budget chief, Lori Wolff, told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview. But where states do have flexibility, Idaho opts toward oversight, she explained — like limiting exemptions for SNAP work requirements, prosecuting fraud cases, and ensuring payments are made accurately. Idaho has been among the top three states for payment accuracies for years, Wolff said. In Little's remarks a couple weeks ago, he leaned on Idaho's metrics, too. Idaho is one of the most efficient states at running the federal SNAP program, he said, citing a recent report that showed Idaho had a range of extra program accountability measures than other states. 'That's one of the things I'm worried about, is they categorically tell all the states, 'We're going to cut your program by such and such,'' Idaho's governor said. 'And I says, 'We're doing a good job. We've got the highest compliance rate, the least amount of fraud. Why would you penalize us?'' Last week, Little and 19 other Republican governors endorsed the bill, two days before it passed the U.S. House with only support from congressional Republicans. Changes are expected in the U.S. Senate. But as it stands now, the bill would benefit wealthy taxpayers more while decreasing resources for low-income families, an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found. Idaho has the second lowest SNAP payment error rate in the nation, which is only behind South Dakota, according to the most recent data from the United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA. That figure measures 'the accuracy of each state's eligibility and benefit determinations,' USDA says. CONTACT US The Gem State is among only seven states that would qualify for the lowest state cost-sharing for SNAP under the bill being considered in Congress, States Newsroom reported. The bill would require those states to pay for 5% of SNAP benefits, and require states with higher SNAP error rates to pay even more. It could raise Idaho's costs for SNAP by at least $18 million, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spokesperson AJ McWhorter told the Sun. That requirement wouldn't start until 2028. So that gives Idaho officials time to plan, he said. Idaho already pitches in some money for SNAP. Last year, Idaho spent more than $8 million to run the program, McWhorter said. But that is only a small fraction of what the program costs. Last year, Idaho's SNAP program gave out $271 million in benefits to low-income families last year, he said. Less than 3.5% of Idaho's SNAP payments were in error, USDA data shows. That's around three times lower than the national average payment error rate, which was 11.7%. 'Idaho is often seen as a model for successful SNAP administration,' McWhorter said. 'Federal policymakers can use us as an example for other states.' The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare on May 16 asked the federal government for permission to ban candy and soda from being covered by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. This year, the Legislature required Health and Welfare to submit that waiver through House Bill 109. Last week, Nebraska became the first state to receive approval for that type of waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Nebraska Examiner reported. More than 3 million people would lose SNAP benefits under GOP bill, nonpartisan report says In a news release, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare cited USDA data to claim that about 20% of SNAP purchases nationally are for 'sugary beverages and snacks.' The agency couldn't immediately share the source for that claim. A USDA spokesperson directed the Idaho Capital Sun to a 2016 study that found 'About 20 cents out of every dollar was spent on sweetened beverages, desserts, salty snacks, candy and sugar.' The study has many limitations, and 'should not be considered nationally representative,' the USDA spokesperson added. The American Heart Association says it supports Idaho's move and is asking the USDA to quickly approve the waiver. 'The American Heart Association is committed to removing sugary drinks from SNAP, and we are proud to stand in support of Idaho's efforts to do so over the soda industry's unconscionable opposition,' American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown said in a written statement. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
IDALS launches animal welfare handbook for local officials
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship released an animal welfare handbook to help local officials respond to animal welfare complaints. (Photo by Lance Cheung/USDA) The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has released a handbook to help law enforcement and local officials better respond to animal welfare complaints. IDALS will host an informative webinar on the handbook Wednesday, May 28, to give an overview of the tool, which provides agency-specific, and species-specific, guidelines. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the department's animal health staff developed the handbook so that partners across the state have the tools to respond with IDALS to animal welfare complaints. 'The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is responsible for keeping animals in our state safe and healthy, and it's a responsibility we take very seriously,' Naig said in a statement. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Mindi Callison, of the animal advocacy group Bailing Out Benji, called the guidebook 'a phenomenal resource.' 'This is the most comprehensive handbook out there outside of the USDA,' Callison said. Callison said while the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a thick handbook, it's geared towards licensees and inspectors. Callison said the plain language of IDALS handbook will make it easier for law enforcement to step in without having to look through and interpret Iowa code. Officials who might respond to an animal welfare call have different roles. The USDA and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, control the licensing, inspection and outreach for any groups transporting, researching, exhibiting or dealing animals. The agency works to ensure these individuals meet standards set by the Animal Welfare Act. Local law enforcement, including animal control groups, and county attorneys may also be involved in animal welfare cases to respond to calls, determine the course of action and build animal abuse cases when applicable. The handbook outlines how law enforcement should respond to and investigate an animal welfare complaint, which Callison said is an 'immediate resource' that will allow authorities to respond to calls sooner. 'We've seen cases where law enforcement agencies were hesitant to step in because they didn't know how to handle the case … But this guidebook really lays it out for them, and it kind of shows them who to contact in different cases for support,' Callison said. The handbook advises local authorities to plan in advance, by identifying facilities that could house animals in the event they need to be relocated, and building relationships with local partners and veterinarians. It also encourages communities to build a response plan in the event of animal welfare complaints, to 'ensure a collaborative approach to safeguarding animal welfare.' Callison said she believes these community connections can also 'really help' facilities to 'do better' before it comes to a complaint and animal welfare investigation. The handbook also serves as a quick reference guide for Iowa code related to animal welfare, including statutes on livestock, the mistreatment of animals, animals in commercial establishments and rescuing animals. Don McDowell, communications director for IDALS, said 'a lot of work' went into developing the handbook. 'We identified a significant need for this resource in working with and communicating with local law enforcement partners over the past few years – both larger urban counties and smaller rural counties,' McDowell said in an email. He said the guide emphasizes the importance of advanced planning for law enforcement officials, but is also meant to help 'county attorneys document the situation and build a strong animal neglect case.' For several years, Iowa has placed high on the list of states with the highest number of puppy mill violations. Part of the issue, which Callison's organization Bailing Out Benji has highlighted, is that federally licensed facilities do not have to follow the same standards as state licensed facilities. Callison said the handbook helps to clarify the role each agency plays, regardless of where a facility is licensed, which she said 'will provide some clarity.' Legislators proposed a fix to this 'loophole' as Callison called it, but the bill did not advance before the close of Iowa's legislative session. Bailing Out Benji is based in Iowa but works to expose animal cruelty situations across the country. Callison said she has not seen similar handbooks in other states but hopes the IDALS move will inspire other states to create similar guides. 'This is a great move by the department,' Callison said. 'I'm shocked that our state has the most comprehensive handbook out there. I'm excited to see how it changes what's going on in our state.' Those interested in attending the webinar on the handbook can register online. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Iowa receives federal waiver for summer nutrition program
USDA approved a waiver from Iowa to implement its own program to distribute food to families in need over the summer. (Photo by Lance Cheung/USDA) The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved the Healthy Kids Iowa demonstration project in lieu of the federal government's summer nutrition program for children, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday. A press release from the governor's office called the program an alternative to the federal program that will feed children 'healthier foods at a lower cost.' According to the release, Healthy Kids Iowa will leverage partnerships with summer feeding programs and community providers that have more than 500 access points across the state. In a video posted to her social media accounts, Reynolds said the program will allow eligible families to select $40 of 'fresh, nutritious food' each month from the access points. 'We're going to focus on easy to prepare meals for kids, without compromising nutrition,' Reynolds said in the video. The distribution sites will offer a selection of foods each month that are 'healthy and kid friendly' according to the press release. Families with children aged 4 to 18 and with household income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level are eligible for the program. For a household of four, that represents an annual income of around $57,700 or lower. Access points are determined by Feeding America Food Banks that will identify 'areas of need' throughout Iowa. Families will apply for the program with The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP, application. Iowa is one of only 11 states not participating in the federal program, known as SUN Bucks, this summer, according to USDA. The state also opted out of the program in 2024, and instead chose to expand the number of summer meal sites in the state. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins applauded Reynolds for what she called an 'historic step.' 'We are encouraging governors across the entire country to explore creative ways to provide food for those in need while also doing right by the American tax payer,' Rollins said in a video statement. According to Des Moines Area Religious Council, this $900,000 expansion in 2024 still left an estimated 54% of Iowa school districts without a meal site in 2024. The SUN Bucks program is also called the Summer EBT, or electronic benefits transfer, program because funds are distributed on EBT cards monthly, allowing recipients to shop at eligible stores. The SUN Bucks program provides $120 to families per eligible school-aged child during the summer. Children who qualify for free or reduced school lunches, or families who already participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are eligible for SUN Bucks. According to USDA in 2024 when the program launched, it represented a $100 million investment. Reynolds has opposed the federal SUN Bucks program for fear that it would lead to unhealthy food purchases and worsen childhood obesity. in August 2024, Iowa submitted a waiver request as part of an effort to implement a program similar to Healthy Kids Iowa, which the USDA denied. Reynolds said in November she would try again for a waiver, hoping for an outcome in her favor under the Trump administration. Food security advocates then urged the governor to instead apply for the demonstration project in tandem with the federally available program. Iowa Hunger Coalition, in a statement Wednesday, said it was concerned about the barriers Healthy Kids Iowa might place on families trying to access it, and on the 'feeding organizations who are already experiencing record-breaking levels of need.' 'We continue to believe that the best way to serve Iowa's low-income kids during the summer is through evidence-based USDA summer meal programs: summer meal sites, grab 'n go sites, and Summer EBT, or SUN Bucks,' the statement read. The coalition said the distribution of summer nutrition funds via EBT, per the SUN Bucks program, reaches families who live in rural communities or have working parents who might not be able to make it to a food pantry or feeding center during its operating hours. 'As further details are released about the Healthy Kids Iowa Pilot Program we hope these concerns are addressed to ensure that each and every child who qualifies is served and has their individual nutritional needs met by the program,' the statement read. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
