PROVIDENCE – More than 11,000 Rhode Islanders would lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits if a Trump administration proposal to narrow eligibility requirements is passed, according to a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The rule, which is open to public comment until Sept. 23, would cut SNAP eligibility to about 3.6 million people nationwide, the data, released Thursday, shows.
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In Rhode Island, 11,689 families, or 12% of the 98,820 families enrolled in SNAP, would be affected.
Of the Rhode Island households who stand to lose SNAP access, 29% are living in poverty, 34% have children, 31% include elderly people, and 10% included people with disabilities, researchers say.
Conducted by Mathematica, the study found that more than 10% of SNAP households in 20 states would lose eligibility.
“Under the proposed rule, millions of vulnerable families will have an even harder time making ends meet and putting food on the table,” said Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Any reforms to SNAP should reduce food insecurity, not exacerbate it. We urge USDA to withdraw this rule and reconsider its approach to SNAP.”
The rule, proposed in July by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, would eliminate a section of the law that allows people who receive benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program automatic eligibility for SNAP. Current broad-based eligibility allows families to qualify for SNAP by meeting TANF’s financial criteria, rather than that required by SNAP. Such families may have higher incomes or assets, but must still comply with other criteria, including work requirements, the study says.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has said the current law allows for abuse of the SNAP program by households who should not qualify.
