Administration’s Proposed Rule Would Jeopardize SNAP Benefits For 200,000 Pennsylvanians In More Than 120,000 Households
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and Pennsylvania’s entire Democratic congressional delegation are pressing Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on the Trump Administration’s proposed revisions to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility. Among other harmful impacts, the proposal would jeopardize food security for vulnerable families and have significant economic ramifications in Pennsylvania. Earlier this week Casey also joined Senate Democrats in opposing the proposed rule, noting that it is in direct opposition to the bipartisan agreement in the 2018 Farm Bill, which excluded any changes to broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE).
The proposed rule’s changes to BBCE would be devastating to Pennsylvania families. Casey and U.S. Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA-18), Matt Cartwright (D-PA-8), Brendan Boyle (D-PA-2), Dwight Evans (D-PA-3), Conor Lamb (D-PA-17), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5), Susan Wild (D-PA-7), Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6) are demanding that the Administration withdrawal this misguided rule immediately.
“According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DHS), the Administration’s proposed rule would jeopardize SNAP benefits for 200,000 Pennsylvanians in more than 120,000 households,” wrote the delegation. “This rule will be especially devastating for households with seniors or individuals with disabilities. DHS estimates that of the 120,000 Pennsylvania households impacted by the rule, nearly 84,000 haves a senior or individual with disabilities.”
“We urge the Administration to withdraw this proposed rule immediately. This proposal will hurt hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians, increase food insecurity among seniors, children, working families and individuals with disabilities and create an undue administrative burden on our state,” they continued.
A full copy of the letter can be found HERE.
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