Funding for food stamps, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), was reduced on Thursday when the House Committee on Agriculture approved legislation known as the Farm Bill.
The bill reduces about $16 billion in funding for the program that feeds approximately 45 million Americans every year.
The cuts will be applied during the course of the next 10 years and according to U.S. News, Republicans favored the cuts saying that the current economy required of "tough choices to be made".
SNAP is the second largest welfare program behind Medicaid in terms of spending with a projected tab of $800 billion for the next 10 years.
The number of Americans depending on SNAP jumped from 28 million four years ago to 46 million today. The cause of the rise is widely believed to be centered on the economic recession that has gripped the nation since then.
According to AJC.com, roughly 50 percent of food stamp participants benefit from the program for 8.5 years or longer.
The media agency continues on by stating that billions of dollars could be saved by closing the many loopholes that exist in the program including granting the benefits to people that are already self sufficient.
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