RESULTS Media Work Helps Keep SNAP Cuts Off the Fast Track

Now you’ve done it! Many members of Congress had a plan to cut billions of dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), a move that could have forced 226-197 and, unlike the pervious House proposal, SNAP will not be included in budget reconciliation. This means that if Congress wants to pass SNAP cuts – which they could unfortunately still pursue later this year – they will have to use the normal budget process to do it. While this does not eliminate the threat, it certainly makes it harder to carry out. In fact, without reconciliation, Congress may not have the appetite for a lengthy SNAP battle at all.

So how did you do it? You made sure communities around the country, and the members of Congress who represent them, knew what was going on. In March and April, you got 67 letters to the editor, op-eds, editorials, and other media published about protecting SNAP (see full list below). This is the most successful media push in the history of RESULTS’ U.S. Poverty work. You also made calls to Congress, wrote letters, talked to legislative aides, and met face-to-face with 33 representatives and senators urging them to protect SNAP in the budget. It worked. Your efforts are a tribute to the power everyday citizens have to make a difference.

What happens now? Make no mistake, even with this victory, the FY 2016 budget is bad policy. It proposes deep cuts to the safety net and RESULTS opposes it. And we will have to remain vigilant in the coming months to protect against other possible efforts to cut SNAP. But you can feel satisfied that if Congress does take aim at SNAP again, you’ve helped make it much harder for them to do. And for now, that’s enough.

Thank you! Please share this victory with other in your community and urge them to keep up the pressure on by submitting their own letters to Congress urging them to protect SNAP.

SNAP Media generated by RESULTS volunteers in 2015:

1. 2/1/2015: Albuquerque Journal (NM), Poverty programs trap the poor (news article), Charlie and Dee Ivy, RESULTS Albuquerque
2. 2/24/2015: Abilene Reflector-Chronicle (KS), Huelskamp discusses tough issues during Abilene visit (news article), JoAnn Dimmitt, RESULTS Salina
3. 3/1/2015: AARP Bulletin, Stop Hunger, Willie Dickerson, RESULTS Snohomish
4. 3/11/2015: Kitsap Sun (WA), Hunger in America can be prevented, Willie Dickerson, RESULTS Snohomish
5. 3/21/2015: The Daily Telegram (MI), Gerson right about building U.S. society, Willie Dickerson, RESULTS Snohomish
6. 3/23/2015: Indianapolis Star (IN), Don't cut food stamps, Sharvonne Williams, RESULTS Indianapolis
7. 3/23/2015: Arkansas Business (AR), Stop messing with SNAP, Tamara Bates, RESULTS Little Rock
8. 3/24/2015: We Get RESULTS (MI), Mary Albertson's internet radio show, Mary Albertson, RESULTS Detroit
9. 3/25/2015: Snohomish Tribune (WA), Making a difference: Help kids by increasing food stamp funding, Willie Dickerson, RESULTS Snohomish
10. 3/25/2015: Ogden Standard Examiner (UT), Don't cut food stamps, Debbie Baskin, RESULTS Salt Lake City
11. 3/26/2015: Deseret News (UT), Food stamp assist works fine as it is, Martha Rogers, RESULTS Austin
12. 3/26/2015: Kitsap Sun (WA), Preserve SNAP to feed millions, Debbie Baskin, RESULTS Salt Lake City
13. 3/27/2015: Capital Gazette (MD), Food aid, Mary Beth Morrissey, RESULTS Baltimore
14. 3/28/2015: Newark Star-Ledger (NJ), Congress' food stamp cuts neglect poor Americans, Susan Rack, RESULTS Bernardsville
15. 3/30/2015: The Olympian (WA), Protection needed for kids – not corporations, Donna Munro, RESULTS Bremerton
16. 3/31/2015: Cedar Rapids Gazette (IA), Judy McDowell, RESULTS Cedar Rapids
17. 4/1/2015: Des Moines Register (IA), Budget uses language to sound patriotic, Judy Zobel, RESULTS Des Moines
18. 4/1/2015: Custer County Chronicle (SD), Like Noem's Work, Shirley Jane Hobbs, RESULTS Rapid City
19. 4/1/2015: Park City Record (UT), Support SNAP to ensure kids don't go hungry, Debbie Baskin, RESULTS Salt Lake CIty
20. 4/5/2015: New Haven Register (CT), SNAP cuts will hurt children, Leslie Weinberg, RESULTS Stamford
21. 4/6/2015: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO), Avoid drastic damage to federal nutrition programs, Vicki Carlson, RESULTS St. Louis
22. 4/6/2015: Toledo Blade (OH), Home economics: Nutty and Nasty (editorial), RESULTS Detroit
23. 4/7/2015: Deseret News (UT), No snap judgments on SNAP program, Dee Ivy, RESULTS Albuquerque
24. 4/7/2015: Salt Lake City Tribune (UT), Preserve SNAP funding for the poor, Ariane Dansie, RESULTS Salt Lake City
25. 4/8/2015: Spokane Spokesman-Review (WA), Reverse SNAP Judgment, Debbie Detmer, RESULTS Spokane
26. 4/8/2015: Baltimore Jewish Times (MD), Save SNAP!, Lior Miller, RESULTS Baltimore
27. 4/10/2015: Stamford Advocate (CT), Congress avoids gaze of neediest (editorial), RESULTS Coastal Connecticut Free Agents
28. 4/10/2015: Greenwich Time (CT), Congress avoids gaze of neediest (editorial), RESULTS Coastal Connecticut Free Agents
29. 4/10/2015: Connecticut Post (CT), Congress avoids gaze of neediest (editorial), RESULTS Coastal Connecticut Free Agents
30. 4/10/2015: CT News Times (CT), Congress avoids gaze of neediest (editorial), RESULTS Coastal Connecticut Free Agents
31. 4/10/2015: Ogden Standard Examiner (UT), Keep SNAP Going, Juanita Barnes, RESULTS Salt Lake City
32. 4/10/2015: Stockton Recordnet (CA), SNAP a model of efficiency, David Dowdy, RESULTS Action Network
33. 4/12/2015: Everett Herald (WA), Fully fund SNAP to end hunger, Willie Dickerson, RESULTS Snohomish
34. 4/13/2015: Chambersburg Public Opinion (PA), SNAP cuts to still-struggling region, Bruce Kessler, RESULTS South-Central Pennsylvania
35. 4/15/2015: Des Moines Register (IA), Food stamp proposal would hurt hungry (editorial), RESULTS Des Moines
36. 4/15/2015: The Star Democrat (MD), Harris should reject SNAP cuts, Sara Buckingham, RESULTS Baltimore
37. 4/15/2015: Columbus Post-Dispatch (OH), Food Stamp cuts would hurt the needy, Susan Neumann-Martiensen, RESULTS Columbus
38. 4/16/2015: Spartanburg Herald-Journal (SC), A successful program, Begoña Caballero-Garcia, RESULTS Spartanburg
39. 4/16/2015: Deseret News (UT), ), Food stamps once again under attack, Eva Nevarez St. John, RESULTS Las Cruces
40. 4/16/2015: Silver City Sun-News (NM), Food stamps once again under attack, Eva Nevarez St. John, RESULTS Las Cruces
41. 4/16/2015: Mason County Journal (WA, Children are too small to abandon, Woody Moore, RESULTS Snohomish
42. 4/16/2015: This Week Community News (OH), Ohio's leaders must protect program that feeds the hungry, Tiffany Grinstead, RESULTS Columbus
43. 4/17/2015: Newark Star-Ledger (NJ), Calling for Congress to stand up for SNAP, Jeff Olson, RESULTS Bernardsville
44. 4/17/2015: Kitsap Sun (WA), For the children, Bill Baker, RESULTS Coastal Connecticut
45. 4/17/2015: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM), Protect federal food assistance (editorial), RESULTS Santa Fe
46. 4/18/2015: Asheville Citizen-Times (NC), Tales of the Two Dollar Challenge (op-ed), Ken Patterson, RESULTS Asheville
47. 4/19/2015: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM), Budget will hurt people who depend on food stamps, Lydia Pendley, RESULTS Santa Fe
48. 4/20/2015: San Diego Union-Tribune (CA): Food stamp program must be preserved, Donna Shanske, RESULTS San Diego
49. 4/21/2015: Albuquerque Journal (NM) No cuts for food stamps, Judith Beery, RESULTS Santa Fe
50. 4/23/2015: Des Moines Register (IA), Congress considers SNAP cuts, eliminating estate taxes, Jos Linn, RESULTS Des Moines
51. 4/24/2015: Asheville Citizen-Times (NC), Fully fund SNAP program to combat tragedy of hunger, Willie Dickerson, RESULTS Snohomish
52. 4/26/2015: Daily Interlake (MT), Fight devastating effect of SNAP cuts, Karen Cunningham, RESULTS Montana
53. 4/27/2015: Houston Chronicle (TX), SNAP woes (editorial), RESULTS Houston
54. 4/27/2015: Eagle-Tribune (MA), Tell Congress not to cut food stamps benefits, Bill Deignan, RESULTS Action Network
55. 4/28/2015: Spartanburg Herald-Journal (SC), We have a moral obligation to feed the hungry (op-ed), Linda Powers, RESULTS Spartanburg
56. 4/29/2015: The Salinas Californian (CA), Congress has wrong budget priorities, Jenn Figueroa and Ashley Perez, RESULTS Action Network
57. 4/30/2015: Custer County Chronicle (SD), SNAP use declines in county, state (news article), Shirley Jane Hobbs, RESULTS Rapid City
58. 4/30/2015: Custer County Chronicle (SD), Saved by SNAP (news article), Shirley Jane Hobbs, RESULTS Rapid City
59. 5/1/2015: Tampa Bay Tribune (FL), Counting on Rep. Heck to save food aid program, Ann Rockaway, RESULTS Olympia
60. 5/3/2015: The Olympian (WA), Funding SNAP program is good investment for kids, Nancy Curtiss, RESULTS Olympia
61. 5/5/2015: Houston Chronicle (TX), SNAP Testimony, Becky Hopson, RESULTS Houston
62. 5/5/2015: Snohomish Tribune (WA), Food bank shortages, Willie Dickerson, RESULTS Snohomish