The trade Puerto Rico needs

Photo by G. Edward Johnson via Wikimedia Commons Op-Ed Tax

The trade Puerto Rico needs Javier Ortiz September 26, 2025 September 25, 2025

A Decrease font size. A Reset font size. A Increase font size.

Billions in new nutrition aid through SNAP make sense, paired with federal income tax contributions that sustain the national safety net.

For more than forty years, Puerto Rico has operated under a different safety net than the fifty states. Instead of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the island receives a capped block grant called the Nutrition Assistance Program . Rather than expanding automatically as need rises, funding is fixed by Congress in advance under 7 U.S.C. § 2028 .

In the states, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funct