What’s the proposal?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing a rule to change how states take utility costs into account when determining the amount of SNAP benefits households qualify for. Under current federal SNAP rules, states have the flexibility to set the Standard Utility Allowance (SUA) and calculate shelter costs for low-income households. States have historically set their SUA to cover most SNAP household energy expenses during the months with the highest energy usage in the state or region. The proposed “one-size-fits-all” rule ignores the variance in utility costs between states and will force Colorado to lower the value of allowed utility expenditures to the limit set by the USDA, reducing already meager SNAP benefits for millions of households.
What’s the impact?
This proposal would cut SNAP benefits by a total of $4.5 billion over five years. Nationwide, the USDA estimates that 7 million people would see their SNAP benefits reduced. The cuts would disproportionately impact older adults, persons with disabilities and working families. While some households could lose SNAP eligibility entirely (about 8,000 households nationwide), this will mostly impact households by changing the amount of SNAP benefits they qualify for.
What does this mean for Colorado?
Colorado is one of the 29 states that will experience benefit cuts. For many low-income Coloradans, this proposed change will exacerbate the struggles of affording both food and utilities.
- USDA estimates that more than 40% of Colorado SNAP households would lose some of their SNAP benefits.
- USDA estimates there would be a 5.14% reduction in net SNAP benefits in Colorado. That is a cut of over $34 million in SNAP per year.
- Approximately 90,000 Colorado SNAP households would lose an average of $32 a month in benefits.
What can you do?
Submit a comment opposing the rule! The Trump Administration must review public comments on this proposal before it can finalize the rule changes. Speak out against the proposal by commenting before the December 2nd deadline. Visit HungerFreeColorado.org/Comment or text HFC COMMENT to 52886 to submit your comment. You can use the following prompts to inform your statement.
The Proposed Standard Utility Allowance Rule Will:
- Exacerbate the struggle of affording both food and utilities for many low-income families
- Have harmful impacts on health and well-being and weaken Colorado’s economy
- Cause 40% of Colorado SNAP households to receive smaller SNAP monthly benefits
- Disproportionately impact older adults and people with disabilities
For questions, contact Anya Rose at Anya@HungerFreeColorado.org. Created by Hunger Free Colorado, October 2019.