Senate needs to step up for SNAP

 I hope that West Virginia’s congressional delegation brings some sanity and humanity into policy decisions being debated in Congress. 

A case in point is the reconciliation bill that passed the US House Agriculture Committee that would blow up Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance for millions of Americans—and thousands of West Virginians-- to pay for more tax cuts aimed at the very wealthy.

Let’s start with where we are now. In West Virginia, around 124,000 households with around 279,000 people receive SNAP food assistance, including over 90,000 kids and almost 11,000 veterans. That’s around 15 percent of state residents. The program brings close to $50 million per month to the state’s economy.

That money goes directly to local businesses and farmers markets, keeps 2,170 retailers, including endangered rural grocery stores, open, and creates a lot of jobs. In fact, the annual amount of SNAP benefits in our economy is enough to support around 19,000 jobs at $30,000 a year.

According to the Food Research and Action Council, in recent years 69 percent of SNAP households here had at least one member working outside the home; 38 percent had at least one older adult; 43 percent had children; and 54 percent had at least one member with a disability.

All that would change and lots of people would be hurt if the House plan goes through. It would cut SNAP funding nationally by around $300 billion, resulting in a loss of food assistance to 11 million people.

Among other things, the plan would blow up already strained state budgets. It would require states to pay between 5 and 25 percent of the costs of benefits, while doubling state administrative costs. Given the ongoing budget woes facing our state, in part due to recently enacted tax cuts benefiting the wealthiest individuals and businesses, it’s highly unlikely that our state legislature would be willing or able to make up the difference.

It would erode the value of benefits as the price of food increases.

And it would double down on bureaucratic paperwork and work reporting requirements that do nothing to promote work and do everything to provide excuses to kick people off. It lifts the age of these requirements from 54 to 64 for older adults. It makes it harder for states to get requirement waivers.

It would completely eliminate SNAP-Ed, an evidence-based program that helps low-income families access fresh and healthier food.

It will eliminate food assistance for refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom are children and seniors.

One especially mean feature is that it would end exemptions from work reporting requirements for parents of children aged 7 to 17 without any allowances even for the months when school is not in session. It’s a mystery how they expect parents of young children to afford to pay for child care, which can cost more than college tuition, if their income is low enough to qualify for SNAP. And it totally disrespects the value of caregiving and raising children. SNAP eligibility changes may also make it harder for children to qualify for free school meals.

This will have negative social ripple effects that will be felt coast to coast and hit especially hard here. It will have negative effects on the economy, education, public health, and the quality of life.

And the purpose of creating all this unnecessary suffering (not even counting the even larger amount of proposed Medicaid cuts) is to pay for a tax cut bill that would overwhelmingly benefit the richest one percent at the expense of children, seniors, and working families.

I’d like to think that Representatives Miller and Moore would reconsider their support for this, but if not, it’s going to be up to the US Senate to stop this trainwreck. And a lot will depend on the voices and votes of Senators Capito and Justice.

(This ran as an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail. Text written before last night's house vote.)

Saving Medicaid: in their own words

 While going through some old files, I came across a copy of an interesting letter dated June 29, 2017, from then Governor, now Senator, Jim Justice to Senator Shelley Moore Capito. The subject was the looming threat of the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and especially Medicaid expansion.

Here are some excerpts:

Since so many of our people count on Medicaid, any cut to Medicaid would destroy families in West Virginia. We can’t put the 175,000 West Virginians who benefit from the Medicaid expansion at risk of losing coverage. The consequences would be beyond catastrophic.

In the face of our drug epidemic, fewer people would have access to drug treatment programs under the current proposal. As the debate moves forward, I hope you and your colleagues will consider the fact that it will only make it harder to combat the drug problem that’s ravaging West Virginia.

I think he nailed it then—and his words still apply today, arguably more than ever.

To her credit, Senator Capito issued this statement on July 18 of that year:

As I have said before, I did not come to Washington to hurt people. For months, I have expressed reservations about the direction of the bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. I have serious concerns about how we continue to provide affordable care to those who have benefited from West Virginia’s decision to expand Medicaid, especially in light of the growing opioid crisis. All of the Senate health care discussion drafts have failed to address these concerns adequately.

My position on this issue is driven by its impact on West Virginians. With that in mind, I cannot vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West Virginians.

I think she nailed it too.

Eight years later, we’re facing a similar threat. This time around, the issue isn’t directly repealing the whole ACA, although it might as well be. Instead, it’s a federal budget reconciliation package that would cut $880 billion from Medicaid (not to mention $230 billion in SNAP food assistance and $12 billion in school meal funding) to pay for more tax cuts for the very wealthy.

A cut that huge would truly be, as Justice said, beyond catastrophic across the US and especially in low-income states like West Virginia. Our already dismal health statistics would get worse. Minor issues will turn major. Substance use disorder will go untreated. The cost of emergency room visits and uncompensated care will grow and be passed on to others. Rural hospitals will close. Jobs will be lost. And people will die.

The margins in Congress are razor thin. Our senators’ votes could influence the final outcome, especially after the House voted to throw us under the bus. I hope they take their own advice and side with the people of West Virginia again.

(This appeared as a column in the Charleston Gazette-Mail.)

Budget bill a disaster for West Virginia

 The US House of Representatives recently voted on a proposed budget that would cut $880 billion from Medicaid and $230 billion from SNAP food assistance while also slashing other programs, including meals for school children…to give $1.5 trillion in tax cuts aimed mostly to benefit the very wealthy.

The measure passed by just a two-vote margin. Both of West Virginia’s representatives voted for it. 

If this becomes law, the damage done to West Virginians across the board would be incalculable. 

Medicaid alone provides health coverage to over 72,000,000 people nationwide and to more than 500,000 West Virginians, including working adults, children, seniors, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and people getting treatment for substance use disorder. That’s close to one out of three of us. 

We’d be hit harder by this than most other states. Nationwide, one out of five people are covered. It’s almost double that in West Virginia.

According to the Kaiser Family Fund, as of August 2024, around half of all childbirths are paid for by Medicaid here, while nearly the same percentage of children are either covered by it or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. It’s the major source of people needing long-term care, including 7 out of 9 people in nursing homes. It provides benefits for 40 percent of people with disabilities.

And while it covers many people who are too young or no longer able to work, most adults receiving it are employed.

The funding, most of which comes from the federal government, supports local economies, keeps rural hospitals open, and keeps people alive. It’s no exaggeration to say that if this goes through, people will die as a direct result. And people would lose their jobs.

If that wasn’t enough, the budget would reduce SNAP food assistance to 42 million people. As with Medicaid, we’d take a disproportionate hit here as well. Our state ranks third highest in the percentage of SNAP households, just behind New Mexico and Louisiana. Nationally, around 12 percent of people receive SNAP, while it’s 16 percent here.

According to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), SNAP helps 124,000 households here, or 279,000 individuals. It brings over $40 million a month to the state, helping 2,170 grocery stores and farmers markets and creating jobs. It’s estimated that each dollar’s worth of SNAP spending generates around $1.80 in economic activity.

Households receiving SNAP include children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and veterans. As with Medicaid, most SNAP households include at least one working member. And if you’re worried that these people are living high on the hog you can relax. The average daily benefit here is $4.54 per person.

On top of all that, the budget bill cuts $12 billion in funding for school breakfasts and lunches and makes sweeping restrictions to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which supports meals for all. FRAC estimates this will reduce access to food in 24,000 schools with 12 million students. 

In West Virginia, we’re talking about impacts in 468 schools with over 180,000 students. This would undo years of progress at the national and state level. CEP has proven very popular in every county in West Virginia since it cuts bureaucracy, improves child nutrition and educational outcomes, removes stigma, and gives working families a break.

The combined impact of these proposed cuts would hurt people across all political and demographic lines. Fortunately, it’s not a done deal. There will be more votes on this over the next few months.  This could give time for people to voice their concerns and for lawmakers to reconsider their actions. 

It’s important to also urge our senators to put the brakes on this. To her credit, Senator Capito said back in 2017 “I didn’t go to Washington to hurt people,” when huge health care cuts were on the agenda. As governor, Jim Justice expanded food aid to low-income children when school was not in session and established the Jobs and Hope program.

Before it’s over, I hope at least some of our representatives will put the people of West Virginia above all else.

(This appeared as an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail)

One more push for an expanded Child Tax Credit

 Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in 2021 in response to the human and economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a complicated piece of legislation that included aid to state and local governments as well as individuals and families.

One of the most important—if temporary— parts was an expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), which provided monthly payments to families with children based on the age and number of children. During the all too brief time that it was in effect, child poverty dropped with record speed in 2021, reaching an all time low of around five percent. Workforce participation of parents and caregivers increased while the expanded CTC was in effect.

Research showed that families spent most of the additional income on things you might expect food, housing costs, child care, utilities. People who study child well-being have long regarded economic security as a protective factor that reduces the probability of maltreatment and abuse. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, receipt of CTC payments were associated with a decline in maltreatment reports and emergency room visits.

Statistics alone aren’t the whole story. Between July and December 2021, I was part of a group effort to collect stories from West Virginia parents and caregivers about what effect the CTC had on their families. The results were about as basic as you can get. 

One family was finally able to fix a broken toilet, which is kind of a big deal. Some children got beds of their own for the first time in their lives. Other parents were able to buy tires or repair vehicles so they could go to work. Another bought enough firewood to get through the winter. Others bought clothes and shoes for school. Some children were able to take part in sports, extracurricular activities, or go to lessons they would otherwise have missed.

You get the idea. If you were in one of those families, you can probably add to the list.

Unfortunately, in January 2022, Congress allowed the expanded CTC to expire. This ended much needed assistance for millions of working class and low-income families. The child poverty rate more than doubled in 2022.

Now there’s a chance to undo at least some of that damage. Despite extreme political polarization, the Republican-led US House of Representatives approved a bipartisan tax plan that would partially expand the CTC again. To her credit, Republican Representative Carol Miller, who represents southern West Virginia, supported the measure. It passed the House by an incredible 357-70 margin. 

This expansion of the CTC is not as generous or inclusive as the 2021 version, but it could benefit 16 million low-income families and lift as many as 500,000 children out of poverty by 2025.

The bill is now stalled in the Senate but it’s not dead yet. In an era of razor thin majorities, every vote counts. It would probably have more of a positive proportional impact in West Virginia than in most other states.

West Virginia’s senators could help move it across the finish line. This time around I hope they do.

(This appeared as an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail.)

One more try for the Child Tax Credit

 In the last half of 2021, a massive public policy experiment took place in the USA. And it worked.

The experiment was the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC), which was part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). This program provided a small but significant amount of income to all but the wealthiest families with children, based on the age and number of children in the household. 

This was a different approach from other social programs in that it covered many people who wouldn’t qualify for other programs because their income was either too low or too high.

The results were startling but hardly unpredictable. Between 2020 and 2021, child poverty dropped by around 46 percent according to the US Census Bureau, reaching an all-time low of 5.2 percent by the end of the year.

I mean, gee, who would have thought that a little money might help people get out of poverty?

There is plenty of qualitative and quantitative research to show what families did with that extra bit of economic security. The short version is that they spent it pretty much where you’d expect: on food, rent or mortgage, home repair, utilities, education, childcare, internet/telecommunications, vehicle/transportation costs, clothing, paying past due bills, work expenses for parents, and savings.

Then there’s this: fewer parents had to sell their plasma to support their families or take out predatory payday loans with outrageous interest rates.

I know many West Virginians who collected stories from parents in our state about where the money went. In one case, they helped pay for a child’s braces. In another, a broken toilet finally got replaced  (kinda major if you haven’t been there). A child got a bed of his own. Worn out tires were replaced before winter hit. Utility cutoffs were avoided. Some found better and safer housing. Other kids were able to take part in things they would otherwise have missed, including extracurricular school activities like cheerleading and sports, summer camps, and a first ever vacation.

In a word, the kind of things that make life a bit more livable.

That was the good news. The bad news was that the CTC wasn’t renewed. It reminds me of the old medical joke that the operation was a success, although the patient died. Or so it seems.

The results of the expanded CTC were a big deal for many reasons, the biggest on being that child poverty is expensive. For everyone. 

A 2018 study from Washington University at St. Louis calculated that child poverty directly or indirectly cost the US $1.03 trillion in 2015 alone. At the time of the study, that amounted to 28 percent of the entire federal budget or 5.4 percent of total US gross domestic product.

Children living in poverty face hunger, sickness, instability, and a general lack of security, which can have community impacts over a lifetime and beyond. This kind of adverse childhood experience can increase odds of low academic achievement, developmental issues, and behavioral problems. Later in life, it can contribute to the greater likelihood of chronic diseases, shorter life expectancy, substance use disorder, contact with the criminal legal system, mental health issues, and more. It can affect lifetime earnings, intergenerational assets, family relationships, and community wellbeing. 

As one might expect, the negative effects of ending the expanded CTC didn’t take long to hit. As soon as February 2022, the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University reported an immediate spike in child poverty rates as the program ended, with 3.7 million American children yo-yoed back into poverty.

Researched published last month in the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) Health Bulletin further documented the harm done by failing to renew the CTC. The focus was on the “increased risk of food insecurity and associated adverse health outcomes, including developmental delay, behavioral problems, and school absenteeism, as well as decreased access to preventive care” after monthly payments ended. Special attention was given to children in very low-income households who were more likely to experience food insecurity and less likely to qualify for help as the safety net was scaled back.

What the researchers found was that after the expanded credit ended, the percentage of US households with children experiencing food insufficiency increased, with larger increases in food insufficiency among households with lower income levels. These estimates represent a relative increase in food insufficiency of approximately 16.7% among households making less than $50 000/y, 20.8% among households making less than $35 000/y, and 23.2%among households making less than $25 000/y.”

The report concludes: “Nonrestricted cash transfer programs like the monthly eCTC represent a promising approach to mitigating income instability and reducing food insufficiency among families with children. With the expiration of the monthly eCTC in 2021, additional policies aimed at mitigating the health and economic effects of poverty on children and families are urgently needed.”

The story doesn’t have to end here with a brief respite from poverty for millions of kids only for them to be thrown back into its depths.

Congress still has unfinished business to address as 2022 winds down. It has the chance and the responsibility to revisit this missed opportunity in yearend legislation and restore this vital program, rather than merely cut taxes for rich people and corporations. Specifically, America’s children and families need and deserve a basic monthly credit without cuts in eligibility for very poor or vulnerable families or reductions in other vital programs.

This time around, I hope that our senators open their hearts and minds and take this chance to prioritize our children, youth and families over—or at least as much as--more breaks for wealthy corporations. 

Some really good news for kids and families

 I’m a big fan of getting quick results ... the good kind, anyway. It doesn’t happen very often and is even rarer when it comes to solving big social problems.

But it’s happening right now for millions of American families, in terms of increasing food security and reducing economic hardships.

Here’s the background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Census Bureau developed the Household Pulse Survey, which is designed to quickly and accurately collect information on how American households are doing and distribute it in as close to real time as possible “to inform federal and state response and recovery planning.”

One very recent survey measured the impact of the newly expanded and refundable child tax credit, which went into effect July 15 and reached about 35 million families with a monthly credit of up to $300 for kids age 5 and under and $250 for those age 6-17. The tax credit has the potential to dramatically reduce child poverty and the long-lasting damage that causes for as long as the program lasts.

The results after just one installment have been startling. The census survey found that food insecurity, defined as “sometimes or often not having enough to eat,” in households with children dropped by nearly 24%. Specifically, before tax credit benefits went out, about 11% of households with kids experienced food insecurity. After the first round, that number dropped to 8.4%, a reduction of almost one-fourth.

Households without children didn’t see any improvement in this area, so we can safely attribute the change to the child tax credit.

(As a math-challenged person, I sometimes find the difference between percentages and percentage points to be confusing, and I’ve stumbled over it more than once, but a percentage point is just the number for arithmetic difference between two percentages, while a percentage expresses that difference as a fraction of 100.)

The survey also asked families how hard it was to meet basic household expenses. Not surprisingly, households with children were more likely than those without them to report that making ends meet was “somewhat difficult” to “very difficult” before and after the child tax credit went into effect. But after just one round, the number of families with children experiencing hardships declined by 8% while it increased for adult-only households by nearly 5%, an effect not as large as that for food security but still statistically significant.

Where was the money spent? Pretty much where you’d expect: About 57% of households spent at least part of the money on educational expenses, including books, supplies, tutoring, tuition, transportation and after-school activities; 47% spent some on food; 28% spent it on internet, telephones and utilities; 25% bought clothes; and 17% of households with a child under age 5 spent the money on child care.

Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, had this to say about the early results: “It looks like families are using this to pay for basic needs that their kids have. These are things we know many families are struggling with. This extra payment is going to reduce the number of families at risk.”

Not all the money was spent right away, however. Nearly a third of parents saved most of it — and that’s a good thing, too. Many financial experts stress the importance of personal savings for many purposes, including a cushion for emergencies, major purchases such as homes or vehicles, financial security and higher education.

About 40% spent most of the credit paying down household debt, which has nearly doubled to about $15 trillion over the past 20 years. Home mortgages make up the lion’s share of debt, but there’s also plenty from student loans, car payments, credit cards and such. Paying debt down or off is a huge stress reliever and has been called the key to financial success.

That’s a pretty impressive record for a 1-month-old program. If it’s extended beyond 2021, a measure now under consideration in the U.S. Senate, this could be a life changer and lifesaver for millions of Americans.

And our two senators will have a lot to say about that.

(This ran as an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail.)

In the spirit of fair play...and protecting the constitution

I've mentioned before in this blog that I used to referee karate tournaments in another lifetime. I always made an effort to call a legitimate point when I saw one, regardless of what I thought of the competitor, their style, uniform, or sensei.  Although I'm no longer a huge fan of sport karate, I've tried to keep the habit of calling a point when I see one.

It would probably surprise no one to hear that I frequently disagree with WV's Senator Shelley Moore Capito. However, I commend her for coming out with a strong and clear statement on the need to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

In ordinary times, such a thing would be a matter of course and require no special statement...but these aren't ordinary times as President Trump persistently tries to discard the constitution and overturn the results of an election he lost by seven million popular votes and an electoral margin of 306-232. Since November, we've been as close to an authoritarian coup as we ever have been, so there is merit today in stating the obvious.

Here are some excerpts from her statement:

Several of my congressional colleagues have made clear their plans to object to counting certified electoral votes from certain states. I will oppose their effort because the will of voters in each state—not political considerations or the individual preferences of senators and representatives—must determine the winner of the presidential election....

and

Allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election have been investigated by federal and state law enforcement agencies. Investigations have been overseen by governors, secretaries of state, and local election officials of both political parties who ultimately certified election results in their respective states. Multiple lawsuits have been filed in the contested states and have been decided in state and federal courts, to include the Supreme Court, by judges appointed by both Democrats and Republicans. None of these investigations or lawsuits has resulted in evidence of fraud that comes anywhere close to the standard for rejecting a state’s electoral votes.

and

Refusing to count a state’s electoral votes in the absence of such evidence would disenfranchise millions of American voters and call into question the very foundation of representative government enshrined in our Constitution. Therefore, I plan to vote to reject the objections that will be raised and to count the electoral votes that were certified by each state.

and 

Yesterday when I took office for a new six-year term, I did not swear allegiance to any individual or political party. I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Recognizing the individual chosen by the American people to be our president is in keeping with this oath...

I'm calling the point. As we say in karate, "Ippon!"

Leaving kids behind?

While congress has been busy doing whatever it is it does lately, one thing it didn't do is reauthorize the Children's' Health Insurance Program, which provides coverage to millions of children in working families nationwide and to around 38,000 children in West Virginia. The deadline to reauthorize the program was Sept. 30.

To their credit, both of WV's senators support the program and were disappointed by the failure to reauthorize the program. Senator Manchin had this to say:

“It is shameful that Congress is so dysfunctional that we cannot even manage to reauthorize funding for a program that ensures 9 million children across America have access to health insurance. More than 21,000 West Virginia children are enrolled in CHIP and to let this funding expire is nothing short of negligent. The least we can do is put partisanship aside to protect our children, the most vulnerable among us. In the coming days, I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure no child in West Virginia loses access to healthcare.” 

And Senator Capito said this:

“I understand the benefits the Children’s Health Insurance Program offers to many students in West Virginia. This is why for two decades, dating back to my time in the West Virginia State Legislature, I have championed this important program and support ongoing efforts to reauthorize it. The legislation to reauthorize CHIP that is advancing in the Senate has strong, bipartisan support."

Despite the missed deadline, the bill has recently made some progress in the senate, although it's a long way from being a done deal. 

Here's hoping this gets fixed before millions of kids get thrown under the  metaphorical bus. This might be the time to make some more noise.

A major catch

I could be wrong, but The Front Porch program/podcast on WV Public Broadcasting, may actually be getting respectable. This week, we had an actual US senator, WV's Shelley Moore Capito. We talked about black lung, health care, broadband and the new political era here.

Not so fast?

Even while congressional Republicans continue to talk about repealing the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, some are starting to hesitate at the idea of taking way expanded Medicaid coverage from what probably amounts to millions of people.

WV Senator Shelley Moore Capito was even quoted saying this: “I am very concerned about the 160,000 people who had Medicaid expansion in my state. I have difficulty with that being included.” I'm glad she feels that way. I hope more people on her side of the aisle do as well.

I guess that amounts to good news these days.

THE LATEST EMBARRASSMENT TO WV? Maybe this.

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE COURTHOUSE...the Don Blankenship case is up to the jury now.

It's about time

For a good while lately, people on my end of the spectrum have been calling on the federal government to step up and assist those parts of Appalachia going through tough times because of the decline of coal. It looks like that is starting to happen, although on a fairly small scale.

I also found it interesting that WV's new senator, who metaphorically could be said to be a high priestess of the "war on coal" cult, is critical of the program, although she doesn't quite come out against it. For mythology buffs out there, her comments seem downright Protean to me.