RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia Democrats are warning of major consequences if Republicans in Congress try to make cuts to SNAP benefits.
“It helps more than 800,000 Virginians put food on the table from Hampton Roads to Richmond, to Northern Virginia, to our neighbors in Southwest Virginia,” said Delegate Bonita Anthony (D-Norfolk).
Democrats said the recently passed GOP budget resolution instructing the congressional committee that oversees SNAP benefits to find $230 billion in savings over the next 10 years is proof that cuts are coming.
However, it’s important to note that the House Committee on Agriculture oversees many federal programs, so it’s possible those cuts could come from other programs, leaving SNAP benefits as is.
“Programs like SNAP are life-changing because it is the difference between having to skip another day of food or not,” said Tamika Spears, a Richmond resident who received SNAP.
Democratic Senator Mamie Locke (D-Hampton) said she believes Republicans in Congress might find savings by forcing states to pick up the tab for some of the cost of SNAP, something she said could cost Virginia over $300 million.
“We would have to start all of our budget work over from scratch again and be forced to make tough decisions at a time when we have limited state revenues to address many unmet needs,” Locke said.
8News reached out to all five Republican members of Virginia’s congressional delegation — Reps. Wittman, Kiggans, McGuire, Cline and Griffith — to get their response to Democrats’ claims, but didn’t hear back.
