The pandemic has devastated employment prospects for many low-income Americans, and anti-poverty advocates are counting on President-elect Joe Biden to restore vital assistance programs to keep people afloat.
Demand at Feeding America’s network of 200 food banks and 60,000 pantries is up about 60 percent over the same period a year ago, says Kate Leone, the charity’s senior vice president for government relations. It could get worse. The charity’s food supply may soon drop even as demand continues to surge unless the federal government takes action, Leone says.
A food-purchase program aimed at mitigating the impact of the trade dispute with China is scheduled to end December 31. That program has provided $2 billion worth of food to Feeding America’s network alone, Leone says. Meanwhile, Congress’s failure to pass a new stimulus deal — as well as the Trump administration’s assault on the Supplement Nutrition Assistance program, known as SNAP — could force even more people to pantries.
Three Trump administration proposals on SNAP would end or cut benefits to 4 million Americans. Two aren’t yet final, and a third — which would have imposed work requirements — was struck down by a federal judge in October.
“The idea that it’s going to be easy for people to find employment and that food assistance should be tied to that is really counterintuitive,” says Leone. “That particular rule really makes no sense.”
Biden has stated that he does not support the new rules. He has joined with others in calling for a temporary 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits during the Covid-19 crisis. He also wants low-income families to get an extra $100 a month in nutritional support.
Low-income people are also at great risk of losing shelter. A moratorium on evictions, imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to limit the spread of the coronavirus, is scheduled to end on December 31.
Biden is expected to take quick action to address the risk of evictions, but the gap between the end of the moratorium and Biden’s swearing in on January 20 worries housing advocates. That’s because there’s little government assistance remaining to help people stay in their homes. Of the 438 state and local programs providing emergency rental assistance, one-third have already run out of funds, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
“When the moratorium expires, you’re going to see a jump in evictions,” says Sarah Saadian, the coalition’s vice president for public policy. “We’re urging the CDC under Trump to make sure there isn’t a gap in protection.”
Biden has vowed to establish a $100 billion affordable-housing fund. He also supports an existing bill in the House to help the homeless that would cost $13 billion over five years.
Other Biden proposals are also cheered by anti-poverty advocates. He wants to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 and has called for increasing the child tax credit for low-income families from $2,000 to $3,000.
