The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion Too many D.C. families count on food stamps to allow the president to cut the program

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October 26, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. EDT
Dave Hardrick was among the volunteers who loaded cars with military precision in D.C. on July 25. He is a member of T.A.P. The Together Assisting People group, which partnered with members of the Washington Football Team to distribute 80,000 pounds of fresh fruit and produce to local families in need. Food banks in the region have been struggling to keep their doors open, just as the need for donations has increased. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

Karl A. Racine, a Democrat, is the D.C. attorney general.

The courts this month struck down the president’s plan to cut food stamps to more than 700,000 Americans.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to preserve Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for Americans straining to find work offered D.C. residents much-needed good news — and was a proper rebuke of an administration trying to take food off Americans’ tables amid a pandemic-induced economic crisis.

Nationwide, unemployment is hovering around 8 percent. In D.C., it stands at 8.7 percent. That’s more than double the rate at the start of the year. Roughly 27,300 fewer D.C. residents have jobs today than 12 months ago. Some who are working are working reduced hours. Many are no longer able to make ends meet on their own. They need help, and they need it now.

While the Republican-controlled Senate has stalled on providing additional relief packages since the initial Cares Act was passed in late March, the Trump administration has prioritized plans to dismantle the social safety net for all Americans. SNAP, a critical tool for lifting people out of poverty and away from food insecurity, is in the crosshairs. By August of this year, roughly 133,000 D.C. residents needed SNAP assistance. Yet, even in this moment of extreme vulnerability, the administration wants to plow ahead with rule changes that will jeopardize access to these essential benefits.

These heartless moves would be catastrophic. They’re also unlawful — which is why we’re fighting them in court.

The D.C. Office of the Attorney General has led coalitions of state Attorneys General taking legal actions to protect the program, from sending comment letters to filing a lawsuit. On Oct. 18, we won that suit. The case, argued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, involved a rule change that would have denied SNAP benefits to adults who were struggling to find work — including up to 20,000 District residents. We argued that the change violated the federal rulemaking process, contradicted the clear mandate of the SNAP statute and lacked a sound basis. Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell agreed, noting that “the backdrop of the pandemic has provided, in stark relief, [the] procedural and substantive flaws” of the proposal. She further criticized the Agriculture Department, which administers SNAP, for being “icily silent” on the scope of its impacts given the economic circumstances of the coronavirus crisis.

The Trump administration ought to accept the court’s well-reasoned decision to vacate the rule. Should it appeal or pursue other efforts to cut SNAP, however, D.C. is prepared to fight back. We will always stand in defense of our vulnerable residents experiencing hardship.

Read more:

Helaine Olen: Billionaires and millionaires against food stamps

The Post’s View: A snappier way to use food stamps

Paul Waldman: Trump’s new food stamp proposal weaponizes government against poor people

Robert Gebelhoff: Yes, there are big problems with food stamps. But Republicans get the solution wrong.