The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan think tank, has issued a report that explains why and shows the impact on each state of the upcoming reduction in federal SNAP (formerly Food Stamp) benefits, and the impact on families. For example, a family of three will see a $29 benefit cut each month.
The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the “economic stimulus” legislation) provided a temporary 13.6% increase in SNAP benefits in response to the economic downturn. The impending reduction in November is based on a complicated formula that was part of the original stimulus legislation, as well as subsequent federal laws that accelerated the sunset date for the increase.
According to the report, which looks at federal agency data, Connecticut recipients, in the aggregate, will lose $44 million in benefits November 2013 through September 2014. This is based on 424,000 state residents receiving benefits (the most recent DSS enrollment data put the figure at 401,000 residents). For the entire country the reduction is expected to be about $5 billion in FFY 14.
