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Fact Check: Who Would Be Impacted By Cuts To Food Stamp Program?

Representative Alma Adams, seen here in a 2018 file photo, is drawing attention to a Trump administration proposal to cut benefits to the SNAP program. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

U.S. Representative Alma Adams is trying to draw attention to a Trump administration proposal that would cut the number of people who receive public funding for food.

The Democrat, who represents the Charlotte area, recently tweeted her concern about the proposal that would affect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.

In the tweet, Adams says, “The President wants to cut 3 MILLION people from #SNAP, including children, seniors, and veterans.”

So how accurate is that statement?

For this week's Fact Check, WFDD'S Neal Charnoff spoke with Politifact reporter Paul Specht. 

The SNAP program provides “nutritional assistance” to people who are low-income or disabled.

Adams referred to proposed changes to “categorical eligibility.” And, as it turns out, Adams' claim is mostly on-point.

3 million

The proposed change to “categorical eligibility” rules would affect 3.1 million people currently receiving those benefits, according to the USDA's own estimates.

SNAP currently allows states to grant categorical eligibility to people who are already on other social programs. The USDA believes some of those people wouldn't qualify otherwise.

“As a result, some households can qualify when they would not under regular program rules,” the department wrote in a fact sheet.

The Trump administration sees this change as closing a loophole allowing some to abuse a program that's intended to be a “temporary safety net,” NPR reported.

Who's affected?

We reached out to the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service department for insight on how many SNAP participants might be affected by the proposed change.

An estimated 673,000 households with seniors and 597,000 households with children are projected to lose benefits, the USDA's communications office told us in an email.

As for military veterans, the number is a little less clear. We reached out to the USDA and other groups that track SNAP beneficiaries but struggled to find a specific number of veterans that might be affected.

“USDA does not have data to determine the specific impacts of the rule on households with veterans, as veteran status does not impact eligibility and therefore is not captured in the caseload data used to analyze the rule,” the USDA told us.

Veterans on SNAP

But it's possible veterans would be affected.

About 40 million people participate in the SNAP program. About 1.4 million veterans live in participating SNAP households, according to a 2018 study by the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The center analyzed data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and estimated SNAP is currently assisting 55,000 veterans in North Carolina.

Rebecca Vallas, a senior fellow at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, believes it's “more than fair to conclude” veterans would be affected. She believes Adams is on “strong footing.”

Our ruling

Adams said President Trump “wants to cut 3 million people from SNAP, including children, seniors, and veterans.” It's true that his administration's proposal would affect 3 million people, including children and seniors.

Veterans also receive SNAP benefits, but we don't know how many veterans would be directly affected. Given that uncertainty, we believe Adams' statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. So we rate it Mostly True.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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