Governor Lamont and Coalition of Governors Urge Congress To Protect the Nation's Food and Nutrition Program

HARTFORD, CT - Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he and a coalition of 22 governors have sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which puts food on the table for millions of Americans, and warning that current proposals under consideration in Congress threaten the ability of states to continue this program.

“A cut in federal funding for the nation’s food and nutrition assistance program poses a serious threat to the ability of thousands of Connecticut adults and children to access the food and nutrition they need,” Governor Lamont said. “I urge Congressional Republicans to scrap this plan and support SNAP and the millions of Americans who depend on it for their health and survival.”

SNAP provides vital food benefits to more than 42 million Americans, including more than 230,000 households in Connecticut. For as long as the program has existed, the federal government has funded 100% of the food benefit costs and 50% of the administrative costs of each state’s SNAP program. Congressional Republicans are now proposing to force states to absorb up to 25% of the costs of their SNAP program, which could amount to more than $221 million annually in Connecticut. The cost shift to the states is unprecedented in SNAP’s 50-year history and jeopardizes the program in any state that cannot absorb this new mandate from Washington.

**Download: Letter from 23 governors to Congressional leaders on SNAP