Food Stamp Presidency Makes a Comeback; REPORT: Biden Administration Eyeing Long-Term Increase in Food Stamps, and related stories

Melina Mara/The Washington Post via AP, Pool

Food stamp presidency makes a comeback:

If Barack Obama was the food stamp president — as Newt Gingrich, former House speaker, famously once said — then President Biden is poised to go one better: He wants to make the entitlement program longer term.

Keep ‘em on the dole — that’s what the Democrats always say. The better to win their votes, dontcha know.

“Biden Quietly Preparing for Food Stamp Increase Without Congress,” Bloomberg wrote.

How so?

By making adjustments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food shopping list that’s used to figure how much should be given to program participants. In bureau-speak, it’s called a “review” or “reevaluation” of the government’s Thrifty Food Plan. In layman’s terms, it’s called an increase in entitlement spending using a backdoor channel.

“The Biden administration is reportedly looking into increasing long-term food aid for millions of households, building on the temporary expanded benefits that were included as part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package,” The Hill wrote. --->READ MORE HERE

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Biden administration eyeing long-term increase in food stamps: report:

The Biden administration is reportedly looking into increasing long-term food aid for millions of households, building on the temporary expanded benefits that were included as part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

Bloomberg reports that the administration is exploring this expansion through a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) instrument called the market basket. The news outlet notes that the market basket, a group of products chosen to track the performance of a market segment, has not been increased, other than for inflation, in 60 years.

“This is really meaningful,” said Jason Furman, a Harvard University economist, told Bloomberg. "It’s one of the bigger things government can do for poverty without Congress.”

Anti-hunger advocates have argued that the current $22-a-day food budget is inadequate and outdated, and set up on unrealistic assumptions, such as that a family eats over five pounds of beans a week. The food plan from the Food and Drug Administration, for example, assumes two hours are spent each day preparing meals from scratch. Bloomberg notes that American families spend about half an hour on food preparation on average. --->READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to related stories:

Biden Quietly Preparing for Food Stamp Increase Without Congress

Biden could boost food stamps 20%, even without Congress. Here’s how

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