Two new bills could change life for millions of Americans

There has been a lot of talk and debate about whether safety net programs have been getting preyed on by fraudulent bad actors. Sen. John Fetterman and a host of other representatives have sponsored two bills in response that could bring yet another evolution to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.

The rebrand came in the tail end of the George W. Bush presidency on Oct. 1, 2008, after the administration found that the term had long gained negative connotations and had evolved into a stamp of shame. That also marked the shift from actual physical paper stamps to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, which essentially made the literal term “stamp” obsolete.

Lately, however, the focus has shifted from people who need SNAP benefits being too ashamed to get them to influencers going into communities and doing YouTube exposés of alleged fraud in safety net programs. This, coupled with the fact that Trump spent the majority of last year trying to reduce the number of Americans who can even access SNAP benefits to begin with, has meant that SNAP as a program needs a new approach.

The SNAP Act is now aiming to enhance the cybersecurity of the SNAP benefit card after growing concerns that EBT, in its current state, is vulnerable to scammers and hackers. The second bill is more focused on the exclusion of Puerto Rico. The US territory has never been fully incorporated into the SNAP benefits program, and the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act aims to change that.

Twelve percent of Americans rely on SNAP benefits, which is around 40 million Americans who count on the program to survive. For Puerto Rico, the demographics are even more dire, and reports reveal that more than 40 percent of residents rely on the program. For low-income families, this remains the only way they can access healthy foods at local grocery stores.

Sen. Fetterman has self-styled his approach to getting his bills passed by being the moderate Democrat who is never shy about crossing the aisle if he truly believes the GOP’s stance will be more beneficial to Americans as a whole. In fact, recently, when it came time to vote on whether the House should curb Trump’s war with Iran, Fetterman was notably the only Democrat who voted no with the GOP. Considering the GOP is expected to be looking for all the votes it can get to approve a $50 billion supplement to Trump’s ongoing conflict in Iran, Fetterman can at least expect a quid pro quo of pushing his own bill forward.

According to Newsweek, Fetterman said, “SNAP is a critical lifeline for nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians. We should be delivering help to those who need it, and that includes protecting them from criminals.” He continued, “I’m proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing this bill to protect our most vulnerable and the food assistance they depend on.”

It’s going to be a revealing couple of weeks as both these bills are discussed in the House, because the representatives’ votes will clearly demonstrate which lawmakers will argue that feeding the neediest Americans is not as important as funding yet another war.