The Politicking and Hunger with SNAP for Puerto Rico

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The Politicking and Hunger with SNAP

(As published in El Nuevo Dia in San Juan, Puerto Rico on May 3, 2024)

By: Eduardo Bhatia

May 3, 2024

From Washington, I receive information that small groups of Puerto Ricans from the island and the diaspora are lobbying Congress to prevent Puerto Rico's transition to the SNAP program. If that's true, it's immoral and a betrayal. It's time we identify them by name, face them, and make them explain to the people of Puerto Rico why.

The neediest families on the island have received assistance from the United States government for the past 40 years through the Nutrition Assistance Program (PAN). This federal allocation, distributed through the local "Family Card", is crucial for many Puerto Ricans. However, in the 50 states, the Virgin Islands, and Guam, nutritional assistance is provided through a different program called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which automatically adjusts during economic crises to help more deprived individuals. The change would substantially increase the assistance received by most PAN beneficiaries in Puerto Rico today, according to the Federal Department of Agriculture. Not only that, around 237,000 additional people would qualify for SNAP beyond those currently receiving PAN.

There is political consensus today on the need to make this transition as a necessary step for social justice. President Biden has promised to include Puerto Rico in SNAP, reversing the discrimination that began in 1982 when Congress and President Reagan replaced the existing food stamp program with the new SNAP, except for those residing in Puerto Rico. A coalition of activists for the poor and hundreds of small local businesses have been advocating in Congress. Puerto Rican and Hispanic political leaders, both on the island and in 42 states, grouped in the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL), have unanimously supported the transition. In addition, major national coalitions such as the Hispanic Federation, UnidosUS, and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda have joined their voices. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand have made the transition to SNAP a priority.

All these efforts are about to bear fruit in the "Farm Bill," a law that is renewed only every 5 years and is being discussed this May. The next window would be in 2029. With the inclusion of SNAP language for Puerto Rico yesterday in the project of the Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), the transition from PAN to SNAP is closer today to becoming a reality.

However, small groups of Puerto Ricans continue to go to Congress to hinder this transition for political reasons and economic interests. Some seek to postpone it for political gain, others think it would increase dependency, and even others want to redirect PAN funds to subsidies for agricultural industries under the pretext of "food sovereignty." There are also those who view the issue from a political status perspective, fearing that the transition to SNAP will bring the island closer to statehood. This confrontation between the stark real need on the island and politicking is terrifying.

Social justice and aid to the neediest must prevail. The dilemma reminds me of that phrase by former Governor Luis Mu?oz Marín when he said, "those who profess to love the homeland but despise the people, suffer a great entanglement of spirit." Federal aid to feed the deprived should never be used for political purposes. Let's support Puerto Rico's transition to SNAP and demand that those who oppose it for selfish and political reasons cease their unforgivable betrayal.