"Hunger Cliff" looming for millions of Americans as public health emergencies end: report

WASHINGTON, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A "Hunger Cliff" is looming for millions of Americans as public health emergencies end and emergency allotments for households receiving vital nutrition benefits cut off, said a report of U.S. magazine The New Republic.

The U.S. federal government met the onset of the pandemic by strengthening the American social safety net, implementing temporary measures such as providing additional unemployment insurance, establishing a moratorium on evictions, expanding free school lunch programs for students, instituting continuous Medicaid enrollment, and expanding nutrition programs utilized by millions of low-income Americans, said the report.

As time went on, however, many of these benefits expired or were struck down in courts or permitted to elapse by the U.S. Congress, according to the report.

Congress passed legislation in 2020 that ties certain flexibilities in the nation's nutritional programs to the public health emergency.

However, when the Biden administration determines that the declaration is no longer warranted, those flexibilities will expire, leaving millions of Americans to fall down a steep cliff in benefits even as inflation soars, said the report.