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3 days ago
- Politics
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How SNAP changes could impact food insecurity
WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — A federal budget proposal could reduce or take away vital benefits for those already struggling to afford basic needs, and advocates in Kent County are sounding the alarm. At a discussion in Wyoming on Friday, groups in Kent County gathered to raise concerns about what President Donald Trump calls the 'One Big Beautiful Bill.'If it is passed, those who use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits may be at risk of losing them. Data from last year shows nearly 1.5 million Michigan residents, or 15% of the population, received SNAP benefits. State Budget Office: GOP bill would strain budget, threaten residents' benefits Those at the meeting outlined what else the proposed cuts would affect, including SNAP-Ed, a federally funded grant program that teaches nutrition. Julie Brunson, executive director of H.O.P.E. Gardens (Helping Other People Eat), says that funding helps her team run nutrition education programs for children and families in the community. 'The loss of SNAP-Ed would definitely affect HOPE Gardens,' she said. 'But more importantly, it would affect our community and our children.' Several states call for tighter restrictions on SNAP benefits H.O.P.E. Gardens has several community gardens at schools to teach children how to grow their own food. 'It affects their food security and gives them agency over their own food,' she said. 'Seeing the impact this has on children and families is amazing… If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.' Brunson knows the stakes because she lived them. She grew up with a single mother raising seven children. She said her family relied on the type of support that is now at risk. 'We needed that help and families still need that help,' she said. SNAP changes proposed in GOP's 'big, beautiful bill.' Here's what to know Brunson says her team couldn't do what they do without continued funding. 'It makes me sad. It makes me angry,' she said. Several speakers urged community members to contact their congressional representatives to share how these programs have helped them or their neighbors. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
State Budget Office: GOP bill would strain budget, threaten residents' benefits
KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) — The U.S. House of Representatives passed what President Donald Trump calls the 'one big beautiful bill' in May. The bill proposes changes to a number of federally funded programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as food stamps. 5 ways the 'big, beautiful bill' could impact Americans According to the State Budget Office, the bill could cost Michigan $900 million and and threaten benefits for many Michigan residents if it becomes law. Data from last year shows nearly 1.5 million Michigan residents, or 15% of the population, received SNAP benefits. While the federal government currently covers the cost of SNAP benefits, the state says the bill would require a new state share of benefit cost, which could cost Michigan up to $800 million annually. The state would also have to pay a higher share of administration costs, which would cost Michigan about $90 million each year, according to the budget office. The office says the proposed changes would 'place a significant burden on Michigan's budget.' 'It is unlikely that the state could backfill these federal cuts without severely impacting other programs including education, public safety, and Medicaid,' the State Budget Office wrote in a memo. SNAP changes proposed in GOP's 'big, beautiful bill.' Here's what to know 'No one should go to bed hungry in Michigan or anywhere in the wealthiest, most powerful country in the world,' said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a statement. 'We will fight to make sure our kids and families are fed, but we need Republicans in our congressional delegation to step up for their own constituents who need SNAP and Medicaid to survive. If these cuts are signed into law, more Michiganders will go to bed with a pit in their stomach. That's unacceptable.' More than 59% of SNAP benefit recipients are families with children, according to the state, and 39% have family members who are older adults or are disabled. About 41,000 are veterans, which is about 10% of the state's total veteran population, according to the governor's office. Data from the state says 67% of SNAP recipients are also covered by Medicaid. 'The legislation being moved through Congress could threaten both the health care and food access of nearly 950,000 Michiganders,' the governor's office wrote in a release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Whitmer: Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' could cost Michigan $900 million a year for food stamps
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office released a report indicating Republican-led efforts in Congress to cut federal spending on food assistance by shifting some of the burden onto the states could cost Michigan taxpayers nearly $900 million a year or require reductions in that program or others to make up for that amount. Whitmer, who has continued to criticize congressional efforts in the same bill to reduce federal spending on Medicaid, which provides health care to low-income and disabled individuals and families, said those cuts and those proposed for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, could upend programs that provide benefits to millions of Michigan families. "In Michigan, we will fight to make sure our kids and families are fed, but we need Republicans in our congressional delegation to step up for their own constituents who need SNAP and Medicaid to survive," Whitmer said in a statement made public June 4th. "If these cuts are signed into law, more Michiganders will go to bed with a pit in their stomach. That's unacceptable.' With her statement, Whitmer released a report on how the SNAP reductions could hit Michigan government from the State Budget Office, which said "The magnitude of the proposed cost shifts would place a significant burden on Michigan's budget, and it is unlikely that the state could backfill these federal cuts without severely impacting other programs including education, public safety and Medicaid." Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who has urged the Senate to quickly pass what he has called his "big, beautiful bill" to extend and increase tax cuts by slashing spending, claim Democrats, including Whitmer, are exaggerating the societal effects of the plan, saying only people who shouldn't be receiving benefits may lose them. The sweeping legislation passed by the U.S. House on May 22 by a single-vote margin and now being considered by the U.S. Senate includes several changes that would impact Michigan residents, including those to tighten Medicaid eligibility and change the rules regarding SNAP, which provides food assistance benefits to nearly 1.48 million state residents. Among the changes approved by the House to SNAP were those expanding the population of adults who must meet work or training requirements to remain on the program from age 55 to 64 and those who aren't caregivers for children under the age of 7. It would also limit the ability of states to provide waivers from work requirements other than those in areas of extremely high unemployment. Also, rather than the federal government continuing to reimburse states for the full cost of SNAP benefits and half of the administrative costs, states under the legislation would have to pick up at least 5% of the benefit costs and reduce the federal match on administrative costs from 50% to 25%. The state share of the benefit costs would also increase depending on its error rates in payments, rising as high as 25%. Michigan's error rate − which includes overpayments and underpayments and can include benefit amounts pay due administrative errors, improperly filed paperwork or fraud − in fiscal year 2023 was over 10% according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. In the report, the State Budget Office said the proposed changes could force the state, which saw the federal government cover $3.2 billion in SNAP costs in Michigan last year, to pay up to $800 million a year to cover benefits and $90 million a year on administrative costs. Republicans who hold the majority in the Senate are expected to make some changes to the legislation, but it is not known whether the SNAP spending cuts will be reconsidered. Senate leaders are trying to pass the legislation before July 4. Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@ Follow him on X @tsspangler. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer: Trump's bill costs Michigan some $900 million for food stamps
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
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State Budget memo: Food assistance cuts proposed by Congress would cost Michigan around $900 million
Getty Images The more than $290 billion cuts to federal food assistance programming being passed through Congress in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will cost Michigan about $900 million, the Michigan State Budget Office found this week. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called attention to the memo from the State Budget Office Wednesday, estimating the losses anticipated for Michigan. The Republican-championed spending bill cleared the U.S. House in May, with Whitmer warning in a news release that if the bill, backed by President Donald Trump, makes it through the U.S. Senate, 42 million Americans who rely on food assistance could go hungry. 'No one should go to bed hungry in Michigan or anywhere in [the] wealthiest, most powerful country in the world,' Whitmer said in the news release Wednesday. 'In Michigan, we will fight to make sure our kids and families are fed, but we need Republicans in our congressional delegation to step up for their own constituents who need SNAP and Medicaid to survive. If these cuts are signed into law, more Michiganders will go to bed with a pit in their stomach. That's unacceptable.' The memo from the State Budget Office, or SBO, says it reviewed the potential impacts of the cuts with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, or MDHHS and found that it was unlikely that the state could backfill the impacted food assistance programs without devastating education, public safety and Medicaid spending. About 15% of Michigan's population, or nearly 1.5 million residents, rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which is on Congress' chopping block, the SBO memo said. More than 59% of the state's SNAP recipients are families with children and nearly half of state recipients are for working families. Members of the food insecurity, religious and other equity groups joined in chorus, offering statements of condemnation for the proposed cuts to food insecurity programming in the Wednesday news release from Whitmer's office. The federal plan is 'cruel and unconscionable', Pastor Richard R. White III, President of the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit & Vicinity, said in a statement. 'These cuts will rip vital support away from countless Michiganders—children, seniors, working families, and the most vulnerable among us—at a time when they need it most. For those we serve, who already struggle to put food on the table, this is not just a policy decision—it is a moral failure,' White said in the statement. 'This decision is a direct assault on the dignity and survival of millions of Americans. We call on all people of conscience to oppose these cuts and demand policies that uplift, not abandon, those most in need.' More than 39% of SNAP recipients have family members who are elderly or living with a disability and more than half a million of Michigan's children receive SNAP benefits, according to the SBO. Food pantries and food banks in Michigan will see even higher demand for nutrition assistance than what they already struggle to serve, representatives of Feeding America West Michigan and Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes said in the governor's news release. 'Many are already facing higher costs at the grocery store, along with the growing price of housing, childcare, and healthcare. More families will be skipping meals, falling behind on rent, and giving up other essentials to try and make ends meet,' Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes said in a statement. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michigan hunting, fishing license fee hikes: What you'd pay under Whitmer budget proposal
LANSING — Ten dollars more to bag a deer. An extra $13 to shoot pheasant. And $84 more to license a 24-foot motorboat. Those are among the more than $208 million in proposed higher taxes and fees baked into Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's state budget for 2026, records released to the Free Press by the State Budget Office show. The proposed fee hikes could be significant in upcoming budget negotiations involving Whitmer, the Democratic-controlled Senate, and the GOP-controlled House. Republicans are generally averse to new revenue measures but the Whitmer administration notes that many of the fees have not gone up in decades and says new revenues are needed just to maintain existing services in the face of inflation. The biggest proposed revenue boost in the budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 is a hike in landfill tipping fees, expected to generate an extra $80 million for environmental initiatives, mostly by increasing the "solid waste surcharge" from 36 cents for each ton of waste dumped in a landfill, to $5 per ton. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy says that would bring Michigan more in line with other Midwest states and help pay for cleanup of contaminated sites. Next is a new tax on vape and nontobacco nicotine products, which is expected to generate $57 million annually to improve health and health care. Whitmer's proposal would tax those products 32% at the wholesale level, matching Michigan's tax on cigars and noncigarette tobacco. Higher license fees in the Department of Natural Resources are the third biggest item, at $28.9 million, with $22 million coming from higher hunting and fishing fees and $6.9 million coming from higher watercraft fees. The State Budget Office last week released the details on those proposed increases, plus all other proposed tax and fee hikes included in the 2026 budget, after repeated requests from the Free Press. Whitmer's proposal would increase the base fee for small game hunting from $11 to $17 for resident adults, from $6 to $10 for resident minors, and from $151 to $165 for nonresidents. A combination hunting and fishing license would increase from $76 to $115 for residents and from $266 to $275 for nonresidents. The cost of a base hunting license for seniors would more than double, from $5 to 13. For adult residents, the fee for a wild turkey hunting license would increase from $15 to $23; the fee for a waterfowl hunting license from $12 to $18; the fee for a pheasant hunting license from $25 to $38; the fee for a deer hunting license from $20 to $30; the fee for a bear hunting license from $25 to $38; and the fee for an elk hunting license from $100 to $150. For seniors, the cost of a deer license would increase from $8 to $23. More: Gov. Whitmer's 2026 budget proposal accelerates growth in state workforce For an all-species fishing license, the budget would increase the fee from $26 to $40 for residents and from $76 to $90 for nonresidents. The cost for seniors would rise from $11 to $30. Turning to watercraft, the budget proposes motorboat license fees that would range from $24.17 for boats less than 12 feet in length to $773.57 for boats longer than 50 feet. The current fee range is from $14 to $448. The fee for a commercial fishing vessel would increase from $15 to $25.90. The cost of a DNR recreation passport, for entrance to state parks, would hold steady at $14. But instead of opting in when they renew their license tabs, Michigan residents would be charged the fee unless they opt out. That change, if approved, is expected to generate an extra $17.2 million, on top of the increased revenues from hunting, fishing and watercraft fees. Hunting fees in Michigan last went up in 2014; boating fees have not increased since 1993, according to the summary provided by the budget office. "Lack of funding will result in loss of opportunities for hunting, fishing, sport shooting, and other wildlife recreation," notes accompanying the fee summary said. "In addition, the quality of fish and wildlife populations and habitat on public and private lands and waters will decline from lack of coordination and management, and the negative impacts of climate change, invasive species, and disease." But some Michigan sports enthusiasts voiced opposition to the proposed increases in recent emails to the Free Press. "Unfortunately, hunting has been on the decline in this state, year over year," said Mecosta County resident Ted Rickabus, who runs a furniture repair shop with his wife. "Raising prices will only accelerate the decline in participation." St. Clair County resident Matt Kosiara, who works for an automotive supplier, said a better solution would be to cut government spending and make certain improvements such as providing more places for people to park when they go to fish at state facilities. "I'm tired of slicing up my passion for the outdoors with less money for my sport and more money to fix the damn roads!" Kosiara said. The budget also proposes about $5.6 million in increased revenues from higher fees related to the Workers' Disability Compensation Agency and $5.3 million in increased revenues from higher water quality and land and permit fees, and removal of sunsets on fees that are scheduled to expire. It proposes raising an additional $5 million from hazardous waste management fees. It proposes raising an extra $2.5 million from higher aircraft registration fees, which have not gone up since 1948. The budget proposes hiking the fee from 1 cent per pound of gross weight currently to 10 cents per pound of gross weight. Smaller proposed fee hikes in the budget would affect fertilizers, gas storage wells, ski operations, nursing homes, adult foster care facilities, and homes for the aged. Whitmer and legislative leaders are working separately on a proposed road funding plan. As presented, the budget did not include extra revenues for roads but Whitmer and lawmakers would like to find close to $3 billion more annually. Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan hunting, fishing license fee hikes proposal: What you'd pay
