Mississippi GOP senator to cosponsor bill to bring SNAP to PR

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, June 10, 2025. (Anna Rose Layden/The New York Times)

By THE STAR STAFF

Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández Rivera announced Thursday that U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) has joined as a co‑sponsor of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act (S. 3958), marking the first time in recent history that a GOP senator has supported legislation to bring the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to Puerto Rico.

Hernández Rivera made the announcement during a speech in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, where he held up a graduation cap given to him by University of Puerto Rico students, covered in messages about hunger and the difficult choices many of them face.

Hernández Rivera said the new support reflects a shift in momentum for the island’s long‑standing effort to transition from its current Nutrition Assistance Program (PAN by its acronym in Spanish) to SNAP. He noted that the past week brought a $78 million increase for the program, surpassing last year’s $48 million boost, and that the SNAP bill now has more than double the backing it received during the previous four‑year term. He emphasized that securing a Republican co‑sponsor in the Senate represents a breakthrough that had not been possible before. Hernández Rivera met with Wicker in Washington last week, a meeting he credits with helping secure the senator’s support.

Wicker’s decision strengthens the bipartisan coalition led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who, together with Hernández, has attracted 19 Senate co‑sponsors. The Coalition for Food Security of Puerto Rico, which has organized more than 40 organizations behind the measure, described Wicker’s support as a significant step forward. Its director, Lilian Rodríguez López, said the coalition has long advocated for greater equity and inclusion for Puerto Rico within federal nutrition programs and praised the resident commissioner for helping consolidate bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress as the Farm Bill advances in the Senate.

A wide range of national and local organizations back the legislation, including Feeding America, Walmart Puerto Rico, the Food Research & Action Center, Bread for the World, Share Our Strength, MAZON, UnidosUS, LULAC, the Hispanic Federation, the NALEO Educational Fund, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Heart Association, the National Hispanic Medical Association, and the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Food & Nutrition Security Task Force.

SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program, is the largest federal nutrition assistance program in the United States. It provides monthly benefits to low‑income households through an electronic card that can be used to purchase groceries, and its funding automatically adjusts based on economic conditions, food prices and poverty levels. States also receive federal administrative funding to operate the program.

Puerto Rico, however, has been excluded from SNAP since 1982, when Congress removed the island from the program and replaced it with a capped block grant as part of federal budget‑cutting measures. The result is PAN, which does not expand automatically during recessions or emergencies and provides lower benefits than SNAP. Because the block grant is fixed, Puerto Rico cannot increase assistance when poverty rises unless Congress intervenes. The island also receives no federal administrative funding, forcing the local government to absorb those costs.

Multiple federal studies, including reports from the Government Accountability Office, have concluded that the block‑grant structure leaves Puerto Rican households more vulnerable to food insecurity and economic shocks. The Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act seeks to reverse that four‑decade‑old policy by transitioning the island back into SNAP over several years, aligning it with the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.