North Carolina Rep. Alma Adams joins lawmakers in urging Congress to remove language from a federal budget bill that could shift SNAP costs onto states.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. โ A controversial federal budget proposal is drawing strong pushback from Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC) and dozens of other lawmakers, who say changes to the nationโs food assistance program could put millions of families at risk โ including right here in North Carolina.
On July 1, Rep. Adams joined 33 House members in sending a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urging them to remove specific provisions from the Houseโs budget reconciliation bill that would dramatically reshape the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
RELATED: ‘Apocalypse’ | Charlotte food pantry prepares for proposed SNAP cuts in ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
For the first time in the programโs 50-year history, the proposed language would require states to begin covering a portion of the cost for SNAP benefits โ a shift away from the programโs fully federally funded model.
โIf the state cannot appropriate the required funds, its only options may be to drastically reduce program enrollment โ effectively denying benefits to many eligible individuals โ or to withdraw from SNAP entirely,โ the lawmakers wrote.
Under the proposal, states would be on the hook for up to 15% of SNAP benefit costs, which could total hundreds of millions of dollars per state, depending on enrollment and error rates.ย
The letter warns that these unpredictable costs would be difficult for states to budget for long-term and could jeopardize their ability to participate in the program.
In North Carolina, SNAP serves more than 1.4 million residents, and local food banks say theyโre already seeing record levels of need.
At Hearts and Hands Food Pantry in Charlotte, co-founder Kenya Joseph says any cut to food assistance would strain a system already pushed to its limits.
โAn apocalypse for hunger, for food security organizations, for food banks and food pantries,โ Joseph said in an interview in June. โWeโre riding this until the wheels fall off.โ
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has also warned that rural regions โ particularly in western North Carolina, where communities are still recovering from past disasters like Hurricane Helene โ could be hit especially hard if SNAP benefits are reduced.
The bill, informally referred to by Republicans as the โBig Beautiful Budget Bill,โ is still under consideration in the U.S. House. Rep. Adams and others are urging leadership to revise the SNAP language before any final vote.
โEnsuring clarity and flexibility in the legislation before passage is essential to avoid jeopardizing state participation and the food security of millions of Americans,โ the lawmakers wrote.
Contact Destiny Richards at drichards5@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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