Stretched social safety net could see more strain in 2024

WASHINGTON — Despite low unemployment and rising wages, Americans have increasingly been relying on safety net programs that could come under further strain in the new year with growing demand and federal funding in jeopardy.

Over the course of 2023, funding for a range of Covid-era assistance ran out, including additional food benefits, housing support and funding for child care centers. That’s left many Americans with fewer resources in the new year to help them cope with rising prices that remain about 20% above pre-pandemic levels.

Further challenges await. One of the first items on Congress’ to-do list after returning from the winter holiday break is to take another stab at passing a budget for 2024. The current extensions to last year’s funding are set to expire in two waves — on Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 — and the spending fight could put a number of programs at risk. House Republicans are pushing for spending cuts to social programs, while Senate Democrats are unlikely to have the votes to revive pandemic-era benefits like the child tax credit or rental assistance.

The potential cutbacks come as demand for government aid is rising. Over the past year, nearly a million more people have begun receiving federal support through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often referred to as food stamps. Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, the number of food stamp recipients has increased by 2.3 million to more than 42 million.

At the same time, the benefits for those who are eligible for food stamps have shrunk, decreasing by an average of at least $95 a month per person after a Covid-era funding boost expired in March.

Stricter eligibility requirements for the food stamp program, which had a projected budget of $111 billion for this year, have also been implemented in recent months. Previously, most childless adults without a disability between the ages of 18 and 49 had to document at least 80 hours a month of work in order to qualify. But under legislation signed into law this year to raise the debt ceiling, that work requirement now extends to people 50 years old, and will jump to 54 starting in October.

In the Republican-controlled House, GOP lawmakers have been pushing for further changes to the program, with proposals that would mandate any recipients under 65 meet work requirements and eliminate recent-work exemptions, including for people who are unhoused and young adults exiting the foster care system.

Food banks say this year’s changes to the food stamp program, combined with rising food prices, which remain 25% above their pre-pandemic levels, have led to a surge in people looking for help.

“We know inflation is real. The cost of fuel has increased. A lot of other food assistance programs that were present during Covid have sunsetted,” said Carrie Stoltzfus, executive director of Food & Friends, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., that distributes meals to people with medical conditions. “We’re the only option for people who are sick, and a lot of those other programs just don’t exist.”

The group will give out 1.9 million meals this year, up 16% from 2022 and nearly double the annual amount provided before the pandemic.

Another food program under pressure is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, know as WIC. Funding for WIC has failed to keep pace with the rise in enrollment, said Georgia Machell, interim president of the National WIC Association. Without a budget increase in 2024 above its $6 billion funding level, state programs might have to institute waitlists for new enrollees or cut benefits for existing recipients, she said.

“Unless Congress acts to protect and strengthen WIC by providing appropriate funding, there could be real challenges,” said Machell. “This is pretty unprecedented. Historically, WIC has received bipartisan support from Congress and the appropriate funding has been provided. So this is not a normal situation.”

The White House has proposed a $615 million budget increase for WIC in 2024, but even that would come up short because, according to the National WIC Association, the Biden administration underestimated the program’s growth this year.

Rising housing costs are another challenge facing low-income households, particularly those that rely on programs designed to help renters. A growing number of Americans are struggling to afford housing, especially as assistance for renters put in place during the pandemic, like eviction moratoriums and federal rental assistance, has expired.

A federal survey released this month found the number of people experiencing homelessness was more than 650,000 — up 12% compared to the previous year. The report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development attributed the rise to an expiration of pandemic-era assistance and increasing rents.

Federal programs designed to help lower-income households afford rent have struggled to keep up with rising housing costs. In particular, the voucher program known as Section 8, which helps make up the difference between the amount someone can afford to pay for rent and the going rental rates, has been hit hard by the rise in rent.

Under a House plan, the number of people able to receive housing vouchers could decrease by 112,000, while a Senate plan could see the number of those receiving benefits decline by 80,000, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning Washington think tank. In 2023, the U.S. appropriated $30 billion for the program.

“The program is already underfunded, there are long waiting lists for it, only about 1 in 4 eligible households are actually able to see any form of federal rental assistance,” said Sonya Acosta, a senior policy analyst the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “Because of cost increases, if Congress doesn’t provide enough funding, it means that fewer households overall are going to receive assistance.”