Republicans Want To Make Sure Presidents Can’t Boost Food Benefits Like Joe Biden Did

WASHINGTON ― In 2021, President Joe Biden enacted the largest-ever permanent increase to federal food benefits, giving the average Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients an extra $36 per person each month.

The 21% benefit boost stands as one of the major domestic policy changes of Biden’s first term. But it happened at a time when many safety net policies were in flux due to the coronavirus pandemic, and it hasn’t received much attention.

Republicans noticed, however, and now they’re hoping to change the law to prevent a future Democratic president from making a similar move.

“President Biden upended four decades of history and singlehandedly enacted a $256 billion increase in SNAP spending over a ten-year period,” House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) wrote in an April op-ed outlining his plan of counterattack.

Thompson wants to make it so SNAP’s monthly benefits can only be adjusted for inflation, without regard to dietary guidance or patterns of food consumption, which were the reasons the Biden administration used to justify the 2021 increase. Thompson’s proposal is part of a broader “farm bill” that would make other tweaks to both nutrition and agriculture policies.

Democrats have strongly opposed Thompson’s proposal, and it’s unclear whether it can become law given Democratic control of the Senate and White House.

“President Biden entered office determined to rebuild our economy from the middle out and bottom up so no one is left behind.” White House spokesman Jeremy Edwards said in a statement to HuffPost. “That’s why he took historic action to reduce hunger and give families more breathing room, including the largest ever permanent increase in SNAP benefits, which is helping