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Thune, Stutzman introduce alternative bill to cut SNAP

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind.Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.
Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.


Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., have introduced a bill that would cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps, somewhat differently than Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, would cut it in their bill.

The Stutzman-Thune bill would cut $30 billion over 10 years while the Roberts-Neugebauer bill would cut $36 billion.

“By closing loopholes, cutting waste, and eliminating fraud and abuse in SNAP, we save taxpayers $30 billion and make sure that families in need still receive a helping hand,” said Stutzman in a news release.

“Our bill would eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the food stamp program, while ensuring a strong safety net for hungry families in greatest need,” added Thune.

Portions of the Stutzman-Thune bill are the same as Roberts-Neugebauer, while others are modifications or unique.

Both bills would limit categorical eligibility for SNAP by limiting that qualification to people who receive cash assistance. Both would eliminate the automatic trigger that comes from participation in the low-income heating and energy assistance program known as LIHEAP ,and both would eliminate performance bonuses to state governments for increasing SNAP enrollment.

The Stutzman-Thune bill affects the SNAP employment and training program differently than Roberts-Neugebauer, and instead of eliminating the nutrition and education obesity block grant program, as the Roberts-Neugbauer bill does, it replaces it with per-capita payments of $5 per household, indexed for inflation.

The Stutzman-Thune bill also has new provisions to clarify enrollment requirements for SNAP with a goal of ensuring timely and accurate income and asset reporting, to limit the work requirement for able-bodied adults without dependents to areas with an unemployment level of 10 percent or higher, and to require the Agriculture secretary to use a centralized database to ensure that individuals cannot enroll to receive the same benefits in more than one state and tightens up quality controls.