Photo from the Philadelphia Inquirer
When the history of the Biden/Harris Administration is written, it should be noted that the President and Vice President launched the sequel to Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty programs from the 1960s.
Already, the expansion of the Child Tax Credit that was enacted as part of the American Rescue Plan has helped to reduce child poverty in the country. Extending it is a major feature of the Democratic Budget Reconciliation Plan.
Another part of the American Rescue Plan-Build Back Better Plans that will help reduce poverty is the Administration Announcement through Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack that SNAP Benefits (formerly known as food stamps) will go up for the eligible 42 million recipients an average of 25 percent above pre-pandemic levels.
According to both Bloomberg and the Washington Post, a person with an average of $121 in benefits will see a $36 increase.
The cost of the increase in the SNAP program will be $20 billion.
This is truly money well spent. Food insecurity has been a lingering problem in the United States which the economic effects of the Coronavirus exacerbated.
How did the Administration justify and accomplish this increase? They adjusted the metrics to the Thrifty Food Plan that helps determine SNAP benefits.
In announcing this change that will help a little over ten percent of the nation's citizens, Agricultural Secretary and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack said:
“A modernized Thrifty Food Plan is more than a commitment to good nutrition – it’s an investment in our nation’s health, economy, and security.”
“I think the pandemic sort of shocked people out of the belief that this is a program that was for some others, somebody else, I would never be involved in the SNAP program. All a sudden we found families either in need of SNAP or in need of the food bank pantry system that never in a million years thought that they would be faced with that situation.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi commented on the increase of SNAP benefits:
“Today is a day of great progress for struggling families across the nation, who will soon see a permanent and substantial increase to their monthly SNAP benefits for the first time ever. Thanks to the Biden Administration strengthening this important lifeline, parents will be able to afford healthy food for their families and children will not have to go to bed hungry.
“Even before the pandemic, countless parents have struggled to put enough food on the table, as current SNAP benefits no longer support a full, healthy diet. That’s why, in the bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill, the Congress directed the Administration to update the Thrifty Food Plan, which is the basis for food stamp benefits, by 2022 based on food prices, consumption data, and nutrition guidance. We applaud the President for delivering this increase ahead of schedule to bolster food and economic security for millions of working families as we emerge from this crisis.
“This new permanent increase, alongside the transformative Biden Child Tax Credit that Democrats secured in our American Rescue Plan, will help ensure millions of Americans are able to afford enough healthy food to feed their families. As Democrats continue to advance our Build Back Better agenda, we will fight to ensure that every child has enough healthy and nutritious food to eat so that they may reach their fullest potential.”
The increased SNAP benefits will start on October 1, 2021.
Moving forward, Washington Post Columnist Paul Waldman has suggested making other people-centered reforms to the SNAP program such as making it easier for school districts, like those already in California and parts of Texas, to make school meals, free for all children, regardless of income.
Furthermore, other parts of the American Rescue Plan like the expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit, aid to schools, increased access to affordable and quality health insurance, and small business assistance should be extended in the Democratic Budget Reconciliation Plan to help reduce poverty on a permanent basis.
Other programs being considered in the Democratic Plan like extending Medicare coverage to vision, hearing, and dental, lowering the Medicare eligibility age, Universal Pre K, the expansion of Pell Grants, and tuition-free community college, and improving housing affordability, would also, if included, drastically reduce poverty and expand the middle and upper classes.
If the Democrats in Congress and the Biden/Harris Administration achieve the passage of these programs that will improve social justice, move the country forward, and lift people up, then this would truly be a successful second war against poverty that will rival the achievements of Roosevelt's New Deal and Johnson's Great Society/War on Poverty.
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