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The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed an amicus brief on Wednesday in support of the plaintiffs in District of Columbia v. U.S. Department of Agriculture and Bread for the City v. U.S. Department of Agriculture; cases that challenge the federal government’s attempt to eliminate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for more than 700,000 individuals who are disproportionately Black and Latinx people.  

“Low-income communities of color that have faced historic barriers to gainful employment and economic security rely on SNAP as a critical safety net,” said Dorian Spence, director of special litigation and advocacy at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The administration’s rule callously disregarded these realities and insists on eliminating SNAP benefits even though the current pandemic has resulted in a recession that is disproportionately impacting Black and Latinx communities.” The final rule would severely limit eligibility for SNAP work requirement waivers, and will result in hundreds of thousands of individuals losing their benefits if they are unable to meet the work requirement. The amicus brief, joined by the National Women’s Law Center argues that the administration’s failure to consider the reliance interests of SNAP beneficiaries and the rule’s disproportionate harm to communities of color violates the Administrative Procedure Act. 

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