Republicans want to restore 'dignity' for millions of Americans on food stamps by cutting their benefits even more

• Millions of Americans are about to see their allocation of food stamp benefits drop in March.
• That's because lawmakers decided to end a pandemic-era program in December's omnibus.

As Republicans grapple with spending cuts, it appears they're now setting their sights on major changes to food stamp requirements.

Since the GOP took control over the House, a host of areas to cut spending have been floated around the chambers of Congress to include in a potential deal to raise the debt ceiling. The Washington Post first reported on Thursday that Republicans are now looking to include cuts to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance program (SNAP) in their proposals to reduce the deficit, particularly by enforcing strengthened work requirements and reduction in benefits.

The potential reductions come as millions of recipients are already bracing for a steep cut in benefits. Come March, a pandemic-era expansion of SNAP is set to wind down, leaving 16 million Americans to lose an average $82 a month in grocery spending. That expansion brought all SNAP recipients to the maximum benefit level; traditionally, the amount recipients receive is income tested, with funds allocated based on their earnings. Those previously eligible for the maximum amount in benefits also received an additional $95 a month.

But lawmakers stipulated in the December omnibus bill that the emergency allotments would wind down in March, even as food prices remain high. For some Americans, especially older ones on fixed incomes, that means $258 will evaporate for their monthly food budgets. Simone Parent, a 56-year-old SNAP recipient who's taking a $135 monthly hit, told Insider that she doesn't know what she's going to do once the cuts come.

Now, some Republican legislators want to make SNAP eligibility requirements even more stringent.

Five GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Lauren Boebert, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden last week urging him to "enact work requirements as a feature of welfare reform."

"Structural reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will better position funding for people in need while incentivizing able-bodied people to return to the workforce," they wrote. "These incentives will prevent the condemnation of SNAP beneficiaries to a life of dependency; instead, incentives will restore their dignity."

The GOP House Budget Committee also signaled last week that SNAP was on their list of areas in which they would support spending cuts — they wrote in a press release that placing work requirements on SNAP would save "tens of billions of dollars," along with requiring income verification for the program.

GOP attacks on food stamps are not new — in 2020, former President Donald Trump tried to end the benefits for nearly 700,000 unemployed Americans, which a federal judge struck down alongside an opinion that stated it would leave "States scrambling and exponentially increasing food insecurity for tens of thousands of Americans."

Democratic lawmakers are unlikely to be on board with the Republicans' proposal to cut benefits. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told the Post that she would "not support bureaucratic requirements that only serve as obstacles to people getting the help they need to get back on their feet."

Meanwhile, Parent, who's already facing an immediate reduction in her benefits, is preparing for hunger pains come March.

"We're all human. We all deserve to be treated the same," she said.