DELAURO, ECONOMISTS, CITIZENS TELL THE TRUE STORY OF FOOD STAMPS AND THE ECONOMY

Washington, DC— Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Ranking Member on the Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee and member of the Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee, held a press conference today with economic experts and a former program participant on the economic importance of the Food Stamp Program, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Congresswoman DeLauro was joined by Elise Gould of the Economic Policy Institute, Donna Cooper of the Center for American Progress, David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World and Tara Marks, a former recipient of food stamps.

A strong supporter of the Food Stamp Program, DeLauro has fought for years to ensure that this program can function as intended—to help struggling Americans in times of need. In 2008, DeLauro was part of an effort to restore Food Stamps in the Farm Bill, and with bipartisan support, was able to override a Presidential veto to get it done.

In 2008, the need for the Food Stamp program grew as millions of families were hit hard by the historic recession caused by the financial crisis on Wall Street. Child poverty, child hunger, and food insecurity all rose rapidly, even among formerly middle-class families. DeLauro, working with then Chairman of the Appropriations Committee David Obey, fought in response to increase the funding for the Food Stamps program from $4 billion to $20 billion, expanding access to 14 million more American households.

According to the Census Bureau's Supplemental Poverty Measure, food stamp aid lifted 5.2 million Americans over the poverty line in 2010, including 2.2 million children. Without food stamps, the poverty rate would have been 17.7%-- and over 21% for children. And these funds did not just assist struggling Americans, they were instrumental in keeping our economy afloat as they were reinvested in our economy at a rate of $1.73 for every dollar spent. Food stamps added nearly $5 billion to the national economy in 2009 alone.

But there has recently been a concerted push by Republican leaders like Newt Gingrich to ridicule Food Stamps as a new welfare. He continually refers to the president as "the greatest food stamp president in history" and argued in South Carolina that this is a "factually accurate" statement. It is not. More Americans used food stamps under President Bush.

"Republicans like Newt Gingrich like to argue that the costs and number of people benefiting from Food Stamps have increased in recent years. But understand, this was due to Republicans' free-wheeling economic policies that crashed the economy – Massive tax cuts. Two wars. A Wall Street free of regulation. As a result, unemployment surged even before President Obama took office, and people turned to food stamps – as they should," said Congresswoman DeLauro. "Just like unemployment insurance, food stamps bridge the gap to help families make ends meet. As the economy improves and families get back on their feet, the costs of food stamps will decrease again. This is the entire essence of a social safety net."

"The Food Stamp Program swelled because the economy entered the worst recession since the Great Depression and remains severely depressed even 18 months after the official recovery began. And this expansion of food stamps was a good thing – benefits keep 5 million people out of poverty and are universally considered some of the most effective fiscal support available to help an economy that is projected to see unemployment rates above 8% until 2015," said Elise Gould of the Economic Policy Institute. "Cutting these benefits would simply be a mistake for families and a mistake for the economy."

"Cuts to food stamps will have an immediate impact on the level of sales of grocery stores across America. For instance a 10% cut to food stamps could cut food sales by as much as $600 million annually. If grocery store sales decline this much, job losses won't be far behind. Those job losses will only increase the demand for SNAP benefits," said Donna Cooper of the Center for American Progress. "Reducing the numbers of Americans who need to supplement their income with SNAP requires that we turn on the economic horse power of federal strategies to both spur job creation and increase wages for low income earners."

"We know safety-net programs are effective in preventing hunger. While poverty and unemployment increased in the last three consecutive years, the number of families struggling to put food on the table did not," said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. "This is largely due largely due to programs like SNAP that help families make ends meet during difficult economic times. As millions of Americans continue to be impacted by poverty and unemployment, lawmakers must create a circle of protection around funding for these crucial programs."