States outflank GOP on food stamp cuts
Maybe all is not lost...
States outflank GOP on food stamp cuts
By Russell Berman - 03/20/14 06:00 AM EDT
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is accusing several states of “cheating” by increasing their home heating aid to recipients of food stamps in a bid to circumvent cuts to federal funding.
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At issue is a provision in the farm bill, known as “heat and eat,” that allows people who receive benefits through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to also receive more nutrition assistance.
The idea behind the link was that low-income families should not have to choose between buying food and heating their home. But Congress has chafed at states that have sought to obtain more food stamp money by sending $1 LIHEAP checks to households that would not otherwise receive help.
To close what some lawmakers called a loophole, Congress increased the LIHEAP subsidy threshold to $20. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the change would save $8.6 billion over a decade, representing a majority of the spending cuts in the nearly $1 trillion farm bill.
Yet in the weeks since President Obama signed the law in February, seven of the 17 states that currently send nominal LIHEAP checks have announced plans to increase that aid to $20, so they can continue to access additional funding from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Those states include Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Oregon, Montana, Massachusetts and New York. All of them, with the exception of Pennsylvania, have Democratic governors.
The moves at the state level prompted Boehner to lash out at his weekly press conference, where he said addressing the “cheating” was a priority for the House in 2014.
more...
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/201237-states-outflank-gop-on-food-stamp-cuts
= new reply since forum marked as read
I posted something on this and it sunk.
Yours won't. 
