By Brett Peveto for WVNS
As the budget reconciliation bill moves through the Senate, West Virginia still faces cuts to a key food support program. The House budget reconciliation proposal cut $300 billion, about 30% from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. While senators have reduced that cut by nearly one-third, it’s anticipated millions of Americans would still lose access.
More than 2,200 West Virginia retailers accept SNAP.
Caitlin Cook, director of advocacy and public policy with the Mountaineer Food Bank, said cutting this program will tend to shrink local economies.
“SNAP benefits are a lifeline in a lot of rural grocery stores,” she explained. “For every SNAP dollar, there’s a $1.50 economic impact. So, without a doubt, SNAP cuts are going to hit our state very hard because of the high level of food insecurity.”
More than 275,000 West Virginians use SNAP to help keep food on the table, which includes 94,000 kids and more than 50,000 seniors.
Reports this week indicate the Senate parliamentarian will approve a provision shifting some costs to the states. For states with a SNAP error rate above 6%, that cost could run as high as 15%. The SNAP error rate measures how accurately states determine eligibility and benefits, including overpayments and underpayments. The error rate is not a measure of fraud. Errors are typically unintentional, and many are clerical errors from state agencies. Only one state has never had an error rate above 6% since recording began in 2003. The 2023 error rate in West Virginia was nearly 11%, and Cook said introducing this variance into the system will have consequences.
“If this goes through, a person that lives across the border in Ohio may have greater access to food assistance by virtue of them living in Ohio,” Cook explained. “It is dependent on what state you live in, as to how successful their SNAP program is run.”
Currently errors are corrected, with overpayments being paid back to states, and underpayments reimbursed to households. States with a high error rate for two consecutive years are charged a penalty under current policy.
Both Senate and House versions of the bill will also reduce the federal share of administrative costs by half, pushing the state and county share of admin costs to 75%. The combined cost shift of error rate penalty and admin expense is estimated to be $84 million a year for West Virginia, with an estimated loss of 32 million meals. Both versions of the bill have expanded work requirements and reduced exemptions, with the Senate version adding work requirements for older adults 55 to 64 and parents with children over age 9.
Vince Hall, chief government relations officer with Feeding America, sees work requirements as a misguided priority.
“The vast majority of people who are able to work are working,” he said. “The bad news is that their wages, even with sometimes two full-time jobs, are so insufficient that despite how hard they are working, they are still unable to afford the basics of rent, food and health care.”
Last year SNAP injected more than $550 million into the state’s economy.
