Arizona's SNAP Woes: States Leads Nation With One of Highest Drops in Childhood SNAP Usage

TUCSON — As the nation reels from SNAP cuts in the Republican Tax Law, Arizona has the highest drop in usage among both adults and now children, according to a new report.

The nearly year-old Republican Tax Law, that Congressman Juan Ciscomani and Congressman David Schweikert voted for, made drastic cuts to SNAP to give massive tax giveaways to billionaires and corporations. As a result, Arizona has become a poster child as the state has seen the largest drop-off in SNAP usage in the U.S.

According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities: 

"Nowhere has the SNAP decline been more alarming than in Arizona, where participation fell by 52 percent (more than 470,000 people) through April, including more than 200,000 children. Arizona’s unemployment rate increased since H.R. 1’s enactment, suggesting this decline doesn’t reflect an improving labor market. H.R. 1’s dramatic SNAP changes and state agency staff shortages have impacted Arizona’s ability to provide food assistance to eligible families and their children."

“Congressmen Ciscomani and Schweikert put billionaires and corporations ahead of the people he was elected to serve, and now Arizonans are suffering,” said Andrea Moreno, Executive Director of Honest Arizona. “Schweikert and Ciscomani's vote for the Republican Tax Law made food more expensive for those most in need, and his vote for the war with Iran and tariffs have made it more expensive for everyone else.”

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