commons on afghanistan tonight on c-span at 9:45 eastern. ♪ >> c-span's washington journal, every day, we take your calls live on the air on the news of the day and we discussed policy issues that impact you. coming up thursday morning, we talk about the biden administration's covid-19 pandemic response with a doctor who served in the obama administration. then, the future of afghanistan following the taliban takeover with a member of the brookings institution. watched c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern thursday morning. be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages and tweets. ♪ john: in our final 30 minutes, a conversation on snap food

benefits with heather taylor, strategic campaigns director for bread for the world. remind the world what red for the world's mission is. heather: bread for the world is a nonprofit that we represent a collective, christian voice. we work with congregations across the country to mobilize and urge congress to pass legislation to address hunger and poverty here in the united states and abroad. john: joining us ahead of what is a big bump for snap recipients in coming weeks, explain. hunger and poverty both here and in the united states, and abroad. and what is said to be a very big bump for snap recipients, explain. >> these are the kinds of policies that we focus on, and for good reason.

what we learned this week is that the biden administration has essentially worked with and ordered the usda, the united states department of agriculture, to proceed to increase snap monthly benefits by about 25%. that is the supplemental nutrition assistance program formally known as food stamps, and what is a proven -- been proven to be the most effective food and hunger broke -- program in north america. this is an increase of $36 per person per month, which may not sound like a lot, and it can go a long way for individuals who are trying to stretch their dollars and also to have healthy diets. this is a double pair. what is really important to understand about this is that this is put in place to reduce hunger, but to ensure that

individuals can afford healthy diets. i have had the pleasure and blessing of being on this program a couple of times. what really stood out to me is what caller said about the importance of healthy diets. that is not about extra cash on hand to spend on food. but what about real nutrition? what we have realized in recent studies is it is not a lack of education and information. it is about giving families in need the ability to purchase healthy foods and not be relegated to high sodium canned goods or to pastas, things that increase diabetes and blood sugar. this will be felt on a 42 million -- i-40 2 million americans participating in the snap program. host: i appreciate you bringing

up the callers. we have a special line for snap food recipients. (202) 748-8002. we will keep that open as well. if you are not in our pacific time zone, you can use (202) 748-8000. this increase in snap benefits for 42 million people -- what will that cost, and how does the biden administration do that? does it not require congressional approval? caller: that is correct. it will be an increase of about $20 billion, bringing the total cost of $99 billion. that is real money that is a cost -- we want to pay attention to that. what is important is that study show that investing in snap stimulates the economy. for every investment of one dollar in snap, it increases

economic activity by about a buck 50. this allows people to buy household goods and edible supplies. it allows them to purchase services from local businesses. all of this helps to stimulate the economy. it is also important to keep in mind the cost of poverty in this country. childhood poverty alone can cost our country anywhere from $800 million to $100 trillion a year. that is nine to 10 times the investment we are currently making in this program. we know it works. it is important to note that, since previous investments in snap as a result of the pandemic, and certain stimulus packages, hunger rate has dropped about 40% since january. what it tells us is that these things are working.

hunger rates are not what they were in 2019. that was before the pandemic began. before the pandemic began, about 3.4% of households said they did not have enough to feed their family in the last seven days. then it was about 2.8%, which was an improvement, but we still have a way to go. this is a measure that can be done through our government administrative agencies, and it is within the president's capacity to work with the usda to do this. it does not require congressional approval. that said, it is also important to know that under a republican congress in 2018, the usda was in fact ordered to do a study to look at the cost of a healthy diet. the cost of a healthy diet is what determines how much snap benefits folk can get on a daily

basis. we were encouraged to look at the data -- is outdated? is it accurate? the usda proceeded to do exactly as they were instructed. our current presidential administration urge the usda to speed up the process and do it more quickly, especially in the light of the pandemic. in light of the hunger rates we saw sore in this country, they did just that. they'd -- they discover through science what we already know when we go to the grocery store, and that is food costs are not getting any cheaper, and we need to have a certain level of means and income if we want not only to take care of our meals, but have a healthy diet. host: i'm going to let you chat with a couple of callers. houston, texas. good morning. caller: good morning.

host: you are on the air. caller: i wanted to find out why the snap program only adhered to women and children, and none of the programs are geared towards elderly people who are over 65 and on assisted living, social security, or retirement benefits? it doesn't cover all of their needs and food needs. i am on the food stamp program. i get $18 a month. i am above may be 100 and two dollars over the income level. they take a third of your percentage for rent and a third of your percentage for utilities. month-to-month it is difficult for your utility bills or fuel bills.

host: thank you for sharing your situation. would you pick that up, and when you do, can you expand eligibility requirements? guest: this does speak to eligibility requirements. i want to note however, that the elgin -- elderly are eligible for snap. there are a range of individuals who do benefit from the program. however, there are certain income requirements in general individuals -- in general. individuals must come within a certain percentage of fog ready line to receive -- poverty line to receive benefits. please note that i personally, and a lot of advocates in the hunger space, here you and do not dismiss your experiences. it is a known fact that most

persons, elderly included, who receive or are on the snap program, run out of their benefits before the end of the month. in fact, 75% of people run out of their benefits before the end of the month. that is why we are pushing for in continued increases -- continued increases. that is why we continue to look at eligibility requirements in our current day. the good news is that, with this measure, all 42 million americans who are on the program will benefit from this increase. no one is excluded. host: some congressional pushback on this increase. in a letter from glenn thompson, and the congressman from arkansas, they write their letter to the director of the

gao. the complexity of this process, and its likely impact, create an urgent need for scrutiny, particularly on the heels of significant nutrition related pandemic spending without rigorous oversight. can the department point to recent data that shows increase snap benefit allotments leading to consumption of healthier foods? did the integrity of the program fog attentional risk that might be associated with increased benefit amounts? do you know the answers to any of those questions? guest: what i do know is that it is important to look at certain historical pieces. it is also a fact, according to certain studies, that less than 2% of snap benefits are associated with any form of fries. the largest percentage of individuals utilizing snap are under proper circumstances.

the money is being used the way it is intended. we also know that hunger rates have plummeted. they have dropped significantly. a number of measures have been put in place, not just snap. want to be transparent about that. there been various measures put in place. together, these measures have been working. with respect to scrutiny, we should always help for accurate data. we have an institute that focuses on policy and research. we want accurate data. no one is running from accurate data here. it is possible that we can continue to review the manner in which the study was done, but it is also fairly logical to conclude, based on a history of healthy diets and the cost of healthy diets, based on on the way the snap program has been administered, based on the way families continue to struggle and stretch their snap benefits in the course of a month, that

this is a need that absently must be met. it can only be met by the kinds of measures we have seen in this particular proposal. host: joseph in new york city. you are next. caller: good morning, and thank you. thank you for being on the program. i have a question. i am a veteran. i am retired. i am 72 years old. i cannot qualify for benefits. i live from month-to-month. when i was on disability, i was hearing all of this about the stimulus and how you can get increased benefits. yet, when i applied, i continually am turned down by the city in new york city.

i live in new york city. host: let me let heather respond, but please stay on the line. guest: i want to be honest in sharing and affirming that every individual circumstance is different. i do not know all of the ins and outs of your circumstances. what i do know, and i encourage you and others to do, is to consult with local family and health services. with local social workers, and visit the local usda site. be sure you are getting all of the benefit that you deserve. all of the benefits you are titled to -- entitled to. if the system was flawless this would not exist, but there are flaws in the system. there are individuals who have real needs -- there are veterans and working families who are

working hard. they are working multiple jobs. they face transportation issues, and still they require programs like snap. we are doing everything we can to strengthen -- but in the interim, consulting with local agencies is a good first step. host: can is a snap recipient. good morning. caller: hey. in my on? host: yes sir. caller: i wanted to thank you for doing a great job. i wanted to tell ms. taylor that i and my wife are 62 years old and 69 years old, on social security. we received $1700 a month together.

we qualify for $19 a month in food stamps. they should change it because we have to pay mortgage and an electric bill, water bill, trash bill. when they only give us $19 a month -- i mean, no one can live on $19 a month. that is to meals. that is 2 meals. as you are telling the man to callers ago about talking to local officials, we have been down there, and they give us nothing. guest: the benefits of the

program will be put into place in october. that is when we should see the increase. that is when you should notice a specific difference in your snap benefits. it is also good to keep in mind -- frustrating though it may be -- that there are some differences in different states. different states have different rules and allow different flexibility. this is in determining the amount of benefits that are administered. it is true that some individuals in certain areas may not receive as much, depending on certain requirements that are put in place locally. nevertheless, there will be an impact and a solid increase of about 25% as a result of this measure at the federal level. host: in terms of determining the specific amount, what is the thrifty food plan and how does it fit into this? guest: the thrifty food plan is

essentially a plan -- it is a study that looks at the cost of healthy diets. how much does it cost to buy certain foods -- fruits, vegetables, grains on monthly basis. based on that calculation is how it is determined the amount of snap benefits that should be administered through the program. again, it was because, in 2018, congress said, you know what, we need to take another look at this. we need to determine how much it costs. are the numbers we are using outdated? are they accurate? as a result of the study, looking at the calculation use through the thrifty food plan, is how we determine we needed to make this 25% increase minimum, which results, on average, not for everybody, $36 more,

individually. host: a few minutes left before our program ends at 10:00 as it always does, but several callers including those for the snap recipients. out of connecticut. caller: thank you for taking my call. before i comment, some of the folks calling in maybe didn't qualify for food stamps or maybe get a small amount, a lot of times there are local agencies who do food distributions or have food pantries and things like that. they might be able to supplement a little bit with that. anyway, i will get back to what i was calling about. last year, because of covid, a lot of our farmers markets and things like that didn't happen.

this year, at least here in connecticut, it is more open. we have quite a few farmers markets. sometimes we can use our snap benefits at age farmers market. it is a nice way to buy local fresh. it is a little unaffordable for some of us. i just wanted to make a comment about that. thank you very much. guest: thank you, and bless you for inserting that and injecting those very helpful conversation and resources. also to note, there are increasingly nonprofits who are distributing fruits and vegetables at lower costs. lower costs are what one would see in a grocery store. yes, indeed, there are increase

options to stretch existing dollars. that does not mean we do not continue to advocate increases where necessary, but indeed, there are increasingly sources and resources at the local level to stretch the dollar. host: florida, you are next. caller: good morning. two major points that have to be made -- these benefits that are going out to everybody from this administration are going to kill the middle-class people who do not have children. those who are on social security who do not call in. we have to pay out of our income. the other point -- why are they not subject to only buying healthy food with snap benefits? potato chips? soda? candy? coffee? it is not healthy food. my husband worked 60 hours a

week and see someone in front of him with a grocery cart full of those items paying with a snap card, and that makes me angry with this country. we see things. they need to be subject to have to buy nutritional food. hamburger, chicken, green beans. why is anything else on that list that they are allowed to buy? guest: thank you. i would encourage everyone to visit the usda website. it does reveal a thrifty food plan. there is a great breakdown on the kinds of foods that are considered in the calculation. also, i would just like to simply share that about 80% of snap dollars are spent on healthy foods. this is what the studies show. is it true that some folks may by some soda, some sweets, as do

many american families across the country? indeed. it is also true to say again, by and large, 80% is spent on healthy foods. we must continue to look at restrictions that might be put in place. that is something we can continue to examine. we want to note the ways that the moneys has been spent has been spent well. it has reduced hunger rates by 40%. not just snap, other programs as well, but hunger has indeed gone down. that is what we are aiming for. host: whenever we talk about the subject, the question is, why do we allow snap benefits to be used for those things? soda and those kinds of things. why should that be allowed in the program, even if as you say,

the vast majority is for healthy foods? guest: it is a fine line between the amount of freedom we give to people to simply live their lives. if anyone has lived or experience poverty, as i have myself, then from that experience, people tend to know that what they have in hand or are trying to use they are trying to use well. they are trying to purchase food that will satisfy hunger, that will allow them to get through the month, and so folks generally know that it is not possible to do that, if the benefits are spent primarily on potato chips, for example. rather, more substitute foods, although the foods may not be as nursing on the whole, if individuals are relegated to buy cheap products. i think there is a push to give family some freedom, some flexibility to be able to make their own choices, and to be

able to decide what is best for their family. at the same time, studies show that the vast majority of the dollars that are spent, are spent on foods that are substantive and can really get at the heart of the problem we are working to address. host: two minutes left in the program. rager he is waiting out of compton. can you make it quick? caller: i disagree with you, heather. i don't see how snap stimulates the economy, when, on the front end it will, but on the back and it won't. you are allowing people to purchase products that are very high in fructose and glucose, and everyone in the medical field knows that it leads to diabetes. why can't that money be given to people, to teach them how to

grow a garden, instead of to possibly let their years be diminished? host: we will give heather the final minute. guest: what i am sharing is simply what the studies show. these studies are put out by reputable entities such as the usda. these studies showed that the economy is indeed stimulated when we make these investments. that is simply what the data tells us. it is also important to keep in mind that we don't have programs like this in place -- the number of hospitalizations the sore because people do not have the nutrition they need. you have to have a holistic view and a holistic approach. if we come to learn that programs like snap are the most effective antihunger programs,

then it stands to reason that we need to improve the program. of course there is room for improvement. we need to make >> washington journal. every day we take your calls on the news of the day and we discussed policy issues that impact you. coming up thursday morning, we talk about the biden administration covid-19 pandemic response with dr. who served as acting cdc director early in the obama administration. then, the future of afghanistan following the taliban takeover with brookings institution representative. watch washington journal. be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages and tweets.

sunday, the series january 6 scenes from the house continues. it could have been two hours, he could have been five minutes. i had no sense of time whatsoever. i remember when i got off the phone with my kids i felt as though my heart was pounding out of my chest. i was very worried that i was having a heart attack. i was kind of worried about that. i must have put my hand up to my

chest, because the photograph that was taken shows me line with my hand up to my chest. i don't remember lying on my back. but i do remember jason taking my hand and stroking it and comforting me and telling me i was going to be ok. i was perplexed that he was reassuring me, because i didn't realize that i was showing how upset i was. >> this week, you will also hear from a massachusetts democrat. january 6, views from the house on c-span. ♪

pentagon leaders today said the airport in the capital of afghanistan is secure and they are trying to evacuate as many people as they can. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff briefed reporters this afternoon at the pentagon.