A big change to SNAP kicks in today

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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Kimberly Adams (0:31)

Big changes kick in today for food assistance programs nationwide. And the Supreme Court prepares to judge just who should be held responsible for the climate crisis.

From Marketplace in Washington, I'm Kimberly Adams. The SNAP food assistance program, sometimes called food stamps, undergoes a major change today as we enter October. This is because of the big Republican tax and spending law that passed last year, which cut something like $186 billion over 10 years from SNAP. Here's what's changing today. States are now responsible for a bigger share of the administrative costs that come with running SNAP. It used to always be a 50-50 split with the federal government, but now states will take on 75% of the costs. Elaine Waxman is a senior fellow at the Urban Institute.

Elaine Waxman (1:20)

In small states, that might be some millions of dollars. In large states, it could be hundreds of millions of dollars.

Kimberly Adams (1:27)

And there's another change coming next fall, which could also increase the bill that states foot. To minimize these costs, states have stepped up SNAP oversight with more paperwork when it comes to applying for and renewing SNAP benefits, Waxman says.

Elaine Waxman (1:42)

What we've seen since the passage of HR1 last summer is that more than 5 million people have stopped participating in SNAP.

It's hard to say exactly what's contributing to that. The best we can tell is a lot of it will have to do with the paperwork burden.

Kimberly Adams (2:01)

She also says there are a few states who believe the new costs will be so significant, they may even have to withdraw from SNAP altogether. We got fresh data yesterday on inflation with the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index Report, or PCE.

In addition to learning that core inflation is sitting at 3%, we also learned that consumer spending went up in August, despite higher prices on most goods and services. Susan Schmidt, Portfolio Manager at Exchange Capital Resources, explains.

Susan Schmidt (2:31)

What it shows is the US consumer is not backing down. The consumer has really been what's driving inflation. When people are still out there buying, wanting to buy, that is what is pushing prices up. They're not backing off despite higher gas prices, despite higher prices for a lot of goods, all of which have been driven largely by tariffs and that increased price of oil.

Kimberly Adams (2:54)

That was economist Susan Schmidt. We do lots of numbers at Marketplace and we have even more on social media. You can check out our video series, The Daily Number, on our Instagram. We're at Marketplace APM.

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Kimberly Adams (3:52)

On Monday, the US. Supreme Court starts its new session, and one case on the docket could have big implications for addressing the climate crisis. The central question is whether big oil should pay for some of the damage caused by burning fossil fuels. Marketplace's Amy Scott hosts our climate podcast, How We Survive, and joins me now. Good morning, Amy.

Amy Scott (4:12)

Hey, Kimberly.

Kimberly Adams (4:13)

So Amy, tell us about the case and what's at stake here.

Amy Scott (4:17)

So in 2018, the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, sued ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy, which is a Canadian company that operates a big refinery here in Colorado.

And this lawsuit alleged that the company's knowingly contributed to climate change while at the same time deceiving the public about the risks. And because of that, the plaintiffs say that these companies should pay for some of the costs of that damage, which includes wildfires, drought, extreme heat, poor air quality, etc.

And one example is a big fire that happened a few years after that lawsuit was filed, the Marshall Fire, which killed two people and destroyed more than a thousand homes in Boulder County and cost taxpayers more than $180 million.