Lawmakers debate Christian approach to food stamps

Changes to U.S. federal food assistance programs and other forms of federal assistance have prompted religious opposition to President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.

On Tuesday, more than 300 protesters came to the Capitol with signs displaying Bible verses, slogans about the poor, and depictions of children in need, exhorting lawmakers to oppose the legislation.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said the demonstrators represented a larger opposition to the package among religious voters who believe that Republicans should not direct cost-cutting efforts at programs that aim to care for the poor.

“The gospel and every faith tradition I know teaches that we should care for the hungry, the sick, the widow, the orphan, the imprisoned,” Coons, who facilitated the event, said in his remarks. “This so-called big, beautiful bill that pushes 16 million people off of healthcare and literally takes food from the mouths of hungry children is the definition of an immoral bill before this Congress.”

Christians on both sides of the aisle cite Biblical principles when talking about Republican attempts to overhaul the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps.

The current SNAP framework requires individuals over the age of 18 and under the age of 53 who do not have children to work a minimum of 20 hours per week to qualify for benefits for a whole year. (Recipients can receive benefits for three months out of the year without meeting those requirements.) The legislative package under consideration would extend those work requirements up to age 65 and include parents with children over the age of 6.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act also aims to reduce the federal burden for financing SNAP starting in 2028. Until then, the government will continue to cover 100% of the costs of the program. The percentage would decrease to 95% in 2028.

The bill also clarifies that no illegal immigrants would be eligible to receive SNAP benefits.

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., doesn’t agree with Coons’ projections about the effects of the bill. He stressed the importance of SNAP and believes that even if the bill passes, the program will continue to be a significant part of the nation’s priorities. Like Coons, Johnson describes himself as a Christian.

“So many people in this town say, ‘Show me your budget, and I’ll show you your values,’” Johnson told me. “Our country spends hundreds of billions of dollars every year taking care of the most vulnerable among us. It is a remarkable investment in our people.”

SNAP cost the government $100.3 billion in fiscal year 2024.

Johnson stressed that the cost-saving efforts in the bill would protect the most vulnerable recipients while also ensuring that SNAP services only go to those who need them the most.

“Vulnerable people are not being thrown off the program. It’s an indisputable fact that the work requirements do not affect pregnant women, those with young children at home, seniors, those with disabilities, or people living in areas of high unemployment,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, some of my colleagues are lying.”

Eugene Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World, a Christian advocacy group, said he’s alarmed by attempts to shrink SNAP. He believes the program’s overall benefits already go to service the country’s most needy.

“The proposal is to cut $290 billion from this program over 10 years,” Cho said. “None of us at Bread for the World are suggesting that SNAP is a perfect program. But I want folks to know that 86% of all SNAP benefits go to a household with a gross monthly income at or below the poverty level.”

This past week, Bread for the World came to Capitol Hill, urging lawmakers to steer clear of changes to SNAP and Medicaid. Justin Seward, a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, came with the group. He receives SNAP but is preparing to transition off the program in a couple of weeks. He gets $292 a month from the program.

“That funds my entire nutrition. That will be taken away, likely in July,” Seward said.

He’s finishing up a work-study program that helped him meet eligibility requirements under current law. This summer, he plans to take classes and write a book based on his research, but those activities will not count toward the SNAP work requirements.

“For the summer, I will likely not have a food budget,” Seward said. He plans to live close to his family and stretch his resources until he starts graduate-level classes at Harvard University in the fall. Seward believes he’s going to be OK despite the hit to his finances. He just has to last through the summer.

Cho, the CEO for Bread for the World, believes many of those forced off the SNAP program won’t have as much hope. Like many Republicans, Cho believes that the government’s spending has gotten out of control. But he said Republicans should reconsider some of their other priorities before touching SNAP.

“I’m a fiscal conservative. I think it’s really important for our nation to prioritize the reduction of our national debt. It feels like we’re trying to make some advancement on our national debt on the backs of those who are being most impacted by levels of food insecurity and poverty,” Cho said.

Other Republicans believe Christians also can’t ignore the consequences of letting government spending go unchecked. When asked how he weighs the concept of stewardship with how the government should look after its citizens, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said he disagrees with Cho’s evaluation.

“These are the same kind of Christian groups that I think mistakenly try to apply their faith to what the role of government should be,” Roy said. “I think when you say the government ‘should be equitable,’ equal justice under law, sure. Equitable in terms of distribution of resources? That’s not my worldview.”

Roy, one of the most ardent fiscal conservatives in the House, also believes that the changes to SNAP go towards solving another problem—one that lawmakers of faith can’t afford to ignore, either.

“The government right now is unsustainable. You want to be Christian about it—what’s Christian about saddling an entire generation or more of Americans with untenable amounts of debt and interest and inflation?” Roy asked. “I don’t see how that’s Christian at all.”

After passing the House of Representatives last month, Trump’s legislative package is up for consideration in the Senate. GOP leaders have said they want to put the bill for final consideration by July 4, a self-imposed deadline that isn’t binding.