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April 23, 2025
In Case of Emergency, Open Block Grant: Part 2
Congress’s efforts to produce “one big, beautiful bill” that reflects President Donald Trump’s tax and spending priorities is about to kick into high gear as the House and Senate turn to crafting their respective reconciliation bills. Yet one key source of contention between House and Senate Republicans remains the amount of mandatory savings included in…
April 23, 2025
In Case of Emergency, Open Block Grant: Part 1
Congress’s efforts to produce “one big, beautiful bill” that reflects President Donald Trump’s tax and spending priorities is about to kick into high gear as the House and Senate turn to crafting their respective reconciliation bills. Yet one key source of contention between House and Senate Republicans remains the amount of mandatory savings included in…
February 24, 2025
What Do You Call an Automatic Stabilizer that Doesn’t Shrink When Conditions Improve? The Biden Food Stamps Blowout
Last month the Wall Street Journal editorial board (“The Great Biden Welfare Blowout”) reviewed the staggering number of welfare recipients in key programs at the close of the Biden administration: Some 84.6 million individuals are enrolled in Medicaid—about a quarter of the population—roughly the same as when Mr. Biden entered office. About 42.6 million Americans…
January 21, 2025
President Trump’s USDA Should Fix Food Stamp Work Requirement Waivers
As President Donald Trump begins his second term, he and his administration will be exploring ways to improve government efficiency and economic outcomes for low-income Americans. One such policy—a 2019 regulation governing states’ use of waivers to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) work requirement—does just that. Although the regulation was never implemented after being…
October 30, 2024
A SNAP Reform Framework Focused on the Future
No matter the outcome of next week’s election, we can be certain that the new President and Congress will confront urgent policy and legislative challenges. One priority issue for the new Congress will be renewing the Farm Bill. True to its name, the Farm Bill authorizes a wide range of programs to support farmers and…
September 27, 2024
Food Insecurity Increases Driven by Middle- and High-Income Households
Last month, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) released their annual report detailing the prevalence of food insecurity in the United States. The report found that 13.5 percent of all US households are food insecure, or, in plain language, have “limited or uncertain access to adequate food”—a significant increase from the year prior. Just a…
September 24, 2024
Household Food Insecurity Rises Again – Inflation, especially for households ineligible for safety net programs, to blame
Each year the USDA issues a closely-followed report on the extent of food insecurity in the United States. This year, the USDA reported 13.5 percent of US households were food insecure at some point in 2023, which was a statistically significant increase from the 2022 rate of 12.8 percent and higher than the pre-pandemic rate…
August 28, 2024
Some Context Behind JD Vance’s Child Tax Credit Comments
Recently, GOP Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance said on Face the Nation “We should expand the child tax credit… I’d love to see a child tax credit that’s $5,000 per child.” He further proposed that the expanded credit be extended to “all American families,” emphasizing disparities in the availability of the current child tax credit…
July 11, 2024
Exploring Trends in Food Bank Use
Business Insider wrote in early 2023 that food banks are “bracing themselves for an onslaught” of increased demand. Later that year, Bloomberg reported that “lines stretch down the block at food banks.” And two months ago, CNN noted that the “share of people turning to hunger relief programs remains higher than it was prior to…
May 8, 2024
USDA Report Highlights Subjectivity of Food Insecurity Measure
Every year, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) releases a report detailing the share of US households who are “food insecure”—defined as those that have “limited or uncertain access to adequate food” due to insufficient resources. Last month, the USDA released a report combining six years of data (2016-2021) to show how food insecurity rates…