Joint Statement: California Stakeholders Condemn Senate Budget Bill’s Historic Threat to SNAP and Families and Workers

PASADENA, CA, UNITED STATES, July 1, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- California’s SNAP stakeholders — including grocers, county administrators, labor unions, public health and anti-hunger advocates — are sounding the alarm on the Senate’s budget reconciliation bill, which, despite some modifications, still represents one of the most significant threats to food assistance in history.

While the Senate version includes slightly lesser cuts than the House version, it would nevertheless dismantle the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as CalFresh in California. SNAP is our most effective anti-hunger program, serving more than 5.5 million Californians. The Senate’s proposed changes would jeopardize access to food for millions, increase administrative burdens, and weaken states' ability to respond during times of crisis. More egregious than the House, the bill immediately ends the bipartisan exemptions for veterans, former foster youth, and people experiencing homelessness from SNAP’s 3-month time limit.

A 20% cut to SNAP — as proposed in the Senate — would result in staggering harm:
• California would lose an estimated $30 billion in federal SNAP benefits over the budget window.
• The economic ripple effect would include over 406,880 jobs lost, from farmworkers and truck drivers to grocery store clerks and retail workers.
• Rural grocery stores would close, food deserts would expand, and already-overwhelmed food banks would face unsustainable demand.

This bill includes provisions that would:
• Shift the financial burden of SNAP to states and counties, eroding its status as a federal entitlement. It allows states to choose either their FY 2025 or FY 2026 SNAP payment error rate to calculate the new required state match, creating a cost shift that threatens long-term program viability.
• Immediately end bipartisan exemptions in the 2022 FRA for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth aging out of the system — protections that were hard-won and are currently helping tens of thousands of Californians, including 115,000 veterans who rely on CalFresh.
• Expand punitive time limits and paperwork requirements for “able-bodied” adults — now including those aged 55 to 64, and parents with school-aged children 14 and older. These failed policies cut people off due to red tape, not lack of work ethic.
• Slash benefit adequacy by mandating cost neutrality for future Thrifty Food Plan updates, ensuring benefits stay stuck at a meager $6.20 per day despite rising food costs.

Taken together, these changes would devastate California’s food system and economy, while forcing state and county governments to shoulder the fallout without additional support. It is a profound disinvestment in families, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and working parents.

We thank Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff for standing firmly in opposition to this harmful proposal and for being champions of SNAP. Their leadership sends a clear message that Californians deserve better — and that nutrition, dignity, and economic stability must remain a priority.

We call on the House to reject a bill with cuts or harmful changes to SNAP and instead prioritize stability, nutrition, and economic resilience. Congress must protect SNAP — not dismantle it — and ensure every Californian can afford food and live with dignity.

“Make no mistake, this legislation reverses progress on decades of work to fight poverty-related hunger, and consigns our children to an unthinkable future of food insecurity,” said Shimica Gaskins, President and CEO of End Child Poverty California. “If that weren’t enough, the bill undermines pathways out of poverty by devastating our food economy, leading to store closures, food deserts, and hurting the very jobs we need to expand access to the California Dream. Thankfully, California’s Senators voted against these cruel cuts. We implore every California Member of the House - when it matters most, do the right thing for the children of your communities, and vote no.”

End Child Poverty CA is joined by the California Association of Food Banks, the County Welfare Directors Association of California, the California Grocers Association Director of State Government Relations, SEIU California, and the Western Center on Law & Poverty.

Linda Swank
End Child Poverty California
+1 626-356-4206
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