More than 50,000 people in Santa Barbara County depend on SNAP benefits, or the food-stamp system known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Large cuts in the modest amounts distributed lie ahead, said Congressmember Salud Carbajal, who spoke at Foodbank of Santa Barbara County on Friday, warning that Republican plans would decrease the nation’s nutrition benefits in favor of funding tax breaks for corporations and billionaires.
“One out of every 10 families on the Central Coast uses SNAP — at last count, that was nearly 30,000 families. Not individuals. Families,” Carbajal emphasized. “That’s part of 1.8 million families in California that rely on SNAP benefits.”
In California, the average SNAP allocation is $6 per day, said Carbajal, hardly enough to cover basic meals. He argued that reducing the already small amount would severely worsen food insecurity in the community.
“I think most Americans would agree right now that can only buy you eight eggs, but the Republican budget wants to make sure that that number is even lower,” Carbajal said. “Cutting $6 a day for Central Coast families who are hungry and struggling every day is incomprehensible to give billionaires a tax break.”
House Republicans’ proposed budget for fiscal 2025-26 calls for $230 billion in cuts to programs that are reviewed by the House Agriculture Committee, on which Carbajal has served for the past four years. SNAP is one of the largest programs under this committee’s jurisdiction, and nutrition makes up 76 percent of the Farm Bill.
The proposed cuts to SNAP are part of a broader effort by House Republicans to offset the cost of tax breaks for billionaires and large corporations, said Carbajal. Last week, the House Budget Committee advanced a budget blueprint he described as “devastating and debilitating.” It would cut billions not only from SNAP but from Medicaid while keeping $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, which would chiefly benefit the wealthiest. Carbajal also took note of Trump’s executive orders that have already cut funding in areas like veteran services, air traffic safety, federal fire workers, and bird flu researchers.
“Don’t forget the context,” Carbajal said. “Last time around, 83 percent of tax breaks went to the top 10 percent in the country,” which added trillions of dollars to the deficit. “Let’s call out this Republican budget for what it is,” Carbajal said. “A rip-off to take funding from everyday, working, middle-class families to pay for the wealthiest, richest, most connected among us.”
As the budget dogfight continues in Washington, Carbajal vowed to oppose any effort that reduces critical food assistance for vulnerable communities on the Central Coast.
“I pledge to them that I am going to fight this budget proposal with everything and all the energy I have,” Carbajal said.
