Pennsylvania boosts LIHEAP payments to avoid SNAP cut
March 07, 2014 | 04:10 PM
Pennsylvania has become the third state and the first one run by a Republican governor to increase its payment under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program to $20 per month to avoid a cut in food stamps, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Thursday.
Pennsylvania had been making a $1 payment per household per year to increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits, but the new farm bill said states have to make a payment of $20 per household per year to trigger an increase based on utility costs.
The new regulation goes into effect on Monday.
Gov. Tom Corbett
Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican who is in a tough re-election race, acted to shift $8 million from Pennsylvania’s federal LIHEAP grant to increase the payment to $20 per household per year.
The governor’s decision will preserve benefits for 400,000 Pennsylvania households slated to lose a monthly average of $60 to $65 each in benefits, amounting to $300 million a year, said Kait Gillis, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Welfare, told the Inquirer.
New York and Connecticut have also raised their LIHEAP payments. Another 12 states have also made the nominal payments and will see their SNAP benefits cut if they do not increase the payments.
The Inquirer article noted that 157,000 households in neighboring New Jersey will see their benefits reduced if Gov. Chris Christie, also a Republican, does not act. Another 11 states have made the low “heat and eat” payments, and some of their governors are also considering increasing their LIHEAP payments.
Pennsylvania had been making a $1 payment per household per year to increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits, but the new farm bill said states have to make a payment of $20 per household per year to trigger an increase based on utility costs.
The new regulation goes into effect on Monday.
Gov. Tom Corbett
Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican who is in a tough re-election race, acted to shift $8 million from Pennsylvania’s federal LIHEAP grant to increase the payment to $20 per household per year.
The governor’s decision will preserve benefits for 400,000 Pennsylvania households slated to lose a monthly average of $60 to $65 each in benefits, amounting to $300 million a year, said Kait Gillis, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Welfare, told the Inquirer.
New York and Connecticut have also raised their LIHEAP payments. Another 12 states have also made the nominal payments and will see their SNAP benefits cut if they do not increase the payments.
The Inquirer article noted that 157,000 households in neighboring New Jersey will see their benefits reduced if Gov. Chris Christie, also a Republican, does not act. Another 11 states have made the low “heat and eat” payments, and some of their governors are also considering increasing their LIHEAP payments.
