The Republican led U.S. House approved legislation that would slash 40 billion dollars from food assistance programs.
The major cuts were designed to satisfy House conservatives because the cost of the program kept rising.
It has doubled since 2008, coming to nearly 78 billion dollars last year. Democrats have pointed out that the food stamp program should shrink when the economy finally turns around.
If passed, 14 million people could be removed from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next decade.
In Virginia, this bill could affect nearly 945,000 people who use SNAP and over 1.7 million in North Carolina.
This measure is unlikely to pass the U.S. Senate. President Obama said he would veto the bill if it ever reached his desk.
