food assistance
New work requirements for some SNAP recipients included in debt limit deal
WASHINGTON — The holiday weekend debt ceiling deal struck by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy preserves in part new work requirements for some food stamp recipients but now with exceptions for certain populations, including veterans. The agreement released late Saturday night showed concessions from both sides — from GOP members, who wanted […]
Congressional farm leaders split over work requirements for food aid, climate funds
WASHINGTON — Three of the four top agricultural leaders in Congress are emphasizing writing a farm bill that meets the needs of all rural Americans, but they diverge sharply over food assistance work requirements pushed by U.S. House Republicans as well as uses of Inflation Reduction Act conservation funds. Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, […]
Biden administration details potential cuts in education, food aid and more under GOP plan
WASHINGTON — Federal departments and agencies say U.S. House Republicans’ plans to cut federal spending would result in reductions to key programs like food aid, education assistance and wildfire management. The series of letters from across the federal government released Monday detail exactly how plans to cut at least $130 billion in domestic spending during […]
GOP House members advocate expansion of work requirements for federal food aid
Three North Carolina lawmakers have signed on as co-sponsors WASHINGTON — Republican South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson introduced a bill Tuesday aimed at expanding work requirements for federal nutrition aid, reigniting a perennial conflict over how Congress navigates both the farm bill and federal spending. “Work is the best pathway out of poverty,” Johnson, who […]
U.S. Senate panel spars over elevated food assistance spending in upcoming farm bill
Republican lawmakers balk at administration’s plan to spend more on combating hunger WASHINGTON – Members of the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee split along party lines on Thursday as they tussled over financial accountability in farm bill nutrition programs. The main point of contention was the Department of Agriculture’s 2021 changes to the […]
U.S. House agriculture leaders discuss anti-hunger measures in upcoming farm bill
WASHINGTON — The new Republican chairman of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee and a top Democrat on the panel on Wednesday laid out anti-hunger initiatives Congress could tackle in the upcoming farm bill. During a panel discussion, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania, the new head of the Agriculture Committee, said he believes members of […]
New ‘must read’ report shines a light on women and poverty in North Carolina
Over 3.2 million North Carolinians are poor or near poor, and many more experience economic instability and challenges over time. We’ve described some of these communities and the hurdles they face, individually and collectively, in our prior research. With this report, we examine the ways that women in North Carolina are caught in the crosshairs of irreconcilable social and economic demands.
Farm bill season arrives: What’s the outlook for 2023?
WASHINGTON — Over the course of the next year, lawmakers on the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture committees will draft a new federal farm bill that will shape food, farm, conservation and nutrition programs across the country for the next five years. The omnibus law that began 90 years ago as crop supports now has an impact far beyond the farm, with programs to create wildlife habitat, address climate change and run the nation’s largest federal nutrition program.
New report confirms what advocates have been saying: Anti-poverty programs work
[Editor’s note: The following is from a new “BTC Brief” entitled “Public Poilcy Must Tackle Poverty” from North Carolina Budget & Tax Center Policy Advocate Heba Atwa and BTC Director Alexandra Sirota. Its central finding: “Evidence shows that programs that provide food and housing assistance and tax credits do help North Carolinians move out of […]
Monday numbers: A closer look at NC’s deeply uneven economic recovery and an important tool for making it work better
There have been countless shortcomings in the responses of federal and state officials to the COVID-19 crisis over the past year and a half, but things have also improved dramatically since President Biden took office and here’s a very practical example:
Washington cleanup continues as Biden administration cans troubled Trump food program
You’re probably already doing it every morning when you wake up for a dozen reasons, but if you’re looking for another cause to be thankful that Donald Trump has been exiled to his little mini-Xanadu in south Florida, here’s a good one. As reporter H. Claire Brown reports for The Counter (an up and coming news […]
American Rescue Plan means help putting food on the table for North Carolinians
The COVID-19 public health and economic crisis has resulted in significantly elevated levels of food insecurity. Millions of Americans, including disproportionate numbers of children and Black and Latino households, have struggled to afford enough food over the past year. Nationwide, the number of households who are not getting enough to eat has remained at nearly […]