BURLINGTON — Attorney General TJ Donovan is calling on Vermonters to oppose a Trump administration proposal that would cut food stamps.
A new federal rule would cut $4.5 billion in federal funding from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.
Northern states with harsh winters will be particularly hard-hit by the cuts because the way utility costs are used to calculate benefits would change.
The proposal would cut $25 million in benefits to Vermonters annually, Donovan said at a Friday press conference at the Heineberg Community Senior Center in Burlington.
“Vermonters will receive fewer SNAP benefits, meaning less money for less food,” he said. “Some might lose their SNAP benefits all together. Let me sum it up: It’s unacceptable.”
This will lead to a loss in benefits for 68% of Vermont households on the 3SquaresVT programs, with an expected average decrease of $82 a month, he said.
Donovan called on Vermonters to file complaints against the proposal at hungerfreevt.org.
The cut is the third proposed this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“This latest rule is the third time the Trump administration has tried to change these rules to hurt the poor, to hurt older Vermonters and to hurt folks with disabilities,” Donovan said.
One of the new rules would increase the program’s work requirements and the other would cut food stamps from people with a certain amount of savings and other assets. Both of those rules are expected to be finalized soon.
Vermont officials have spoken out against proposed cuts this year. Donovan himself asked Vermonters to weigh in this September against another rule change that would lead to cuts.
The USDA has received more than 75,000 comments about one of the previous proposals, according to the New York Times.
The department told the New York Times that the new rule would “better reflect what low-income households are actually paying for utilities so that eligible households receive SNAP benefit amounts that more accurately reflect their circumstances, no matter the state in which they reside.”
The current proposal would reduce the standard utility deduction almost in half, Donovan said.
“These are, as we all know, significant costs in Vermont, given our winters,” he said. “Staying warm costs money.”
The cuts will drain $25 million annually from the local economy, Donovan said, as low-income Vermonters would have to make tough choices about spending.
The proposed change would hurt older Vermonters and Vermonters with disabilities the hardest, as 80% of 3SquaresVT recipients in those groups would lose benefits.
“We’ve got to take care of people, we’ve got to take care of people who need our help,” Donovan said. “We certainly can’t let older Vermonters and folks with disabilities be hurt the most.”
Anore Horton, the executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, said a high number of comments could delay the process for finalizing cuts.
Donovan could join a lawsuit with other states to block the cuts if the administration moves forward, Horton said. Judges considering an injunction would review public comments in considering the merits of the case, she said.
Donovan said that if the administration does move forward with the cuts, he would file suit.
“If it goes through, we’ll fight this,” he said. “This is cruel, and it is unnecessary.”
Sarah Launderville, executive director of Vermont Center for Independent Living, said the proposal would harm people with disabilities and those living in poverty.
“This is a cookie cutter government attempt to cut an important basic need and basic program,” she said. “It doesn’t work for Vermont and it needs to be stopped.”
Art Hathaway, a resident at the Heineberg Community Senior Center, said the proposed cuts were not right.
“They don’t care about people who need it, lower-income and the eldery,” he said.
