Food Stamp Cuts Start Friday - East Idaho News
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Food Stamp Cuts Start Friday

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GETTY 11113 ShoppingCart?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1383295294490iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — One in seven Americans are in for a “food” awakening Friday.  That’s when benefits are reduced for the estimated 47 millions who get food stamps.

A family of four that collects food stamps will see their benefits drop about $36 monthly because a provision in the 2009 economic stimulus program has been eliminated.

Republicans began targeting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, for deep cuts when it doubled in size from $40 billion in 2008 to its current $80 billion a year price tag, largely because of the Great Recession.

The GOP and Democrats have been sparring over how much to reduce SNAP, which is included in the wide-ranging farm bill.  Negotiations restarted this week on trying to find a middle ground, with the two sides remaining far apart.

A House bill would slash $4 billion annually from SNAP while the White House and Democrats are only looking at cuts amounting to about a tenth of that figure.

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