‘Shame On Us,’ Says Iowa Senator As SNAP Restriction Bill Passes

A bill that would add more hoops to jump through for federal public assistance money—legislation that would cost the state millions over the next few years to put in place—passed the Iowa Senate Wednesday.

The bill, Senate File 494, passed along party lines, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats against.

Sen. Jeff Edler (R-State Center), the bill’s sponsor, said the bill wouldn’t change eligibility requirements.

But Democrats protested that adding more verification to a process that already requires it, limiting families to only one vehicle, and instituting a limited time in which to respond to notices, would have the effect of removing eligible Iowans from programs, and take food away from children.

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“Too many Iowans are hungry—rural and urban alike,” said Sen. Janice Weiner (D-Iowa City), during Wednesday’s debate. “This bill would make it harder for them to apply.

“We like to say that Iowa feeds the world,” she added. “Shouldn’t that start right here at home, with our own people?”

@iowastartingline

Sen. Weiner spoke against SF 494 on Wednesday, a bill that would make it harder for food insecure Iowans to access SNAP benefits. The bill passed 34-16. Earlier this year, Weiner also introduced a bill to provide free breakfast and lunch to all Iowa students, but the legislation got no traction among Iowa Republicans. #iowa #iowanews #iowapolitics #ialegis #snap

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The bill would require Iowans who already qualify for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to jump through additional hoops, including new identity verification and asset testing.

Sen. Todd Taylor (D-Cedar Rapids) noted that, rather than save money by preventing fraud, the bill will actually cost taxpayers millions over the next few years.

Iowa spent $2.2 million to administer SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2022, but is considering spending a little more than 8 times that amount over three years to reduce public assistance benefits. https://t.co/YX8NoEY9zf

— Ty Rushing (@Rushthewriter) March 23, 2023

“This bill sets up more bureaucratic red tape and more government forms … that will prevent Iowans who truly need food,” Taylor said. “It seems (Republicans) talk about wanting smaller, smarter government, until you don’t.”

Adding more steps to a process that already has barely any fraud will also result in more Iowa children going hungry, said Sen. Bill Dotzler (D-Waterloo).

“This is just furthering a fallacy that people are too lazy to work, and that they are on the public dole, and, man, we’re feeding kids when we shouldn’t be,” he said. “Even if we got a deadbeat parent, what are we doing to the kids? These are the children of Iowa. Shame on us.”

@iowastartingline

Sen. Dotzler proposed an amendment to SF 494 on Wednesday to increase the period to respond from 10 days to 30 days. The amendment failed, and SF 494 passed 34-16. #iowa #iowanews #iowapolitics #ialegis #snap

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The bill would also make Iowans respond to any public assistance notice within 10 calendar days of that notice being sent, something Dotzler said could be a problem if a person couldn’t get their mail in a timely fashion, like if the post office didn’t deliver in time.

“We cannot kick people off of their benefits … because they didn’t get the notice. How can that be right?” Dotzler said. “And how could you, as a group of fellow senators, agree that that’s OK?”

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Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott (D-Waukee) pointed out that when Pennsylvania’s legislature tried a similar asset test, 14% of those enrolled—hundreds of thousands of eligible residents—were kicked off their benefits. Pennsylvania later rescinded the law.

“Most folks don’t realize that a lot of their neighbors are receiving SNAP, that SNAP are benefiting their local grocery stores and their small communities,” Trone Garriott said. “If 14% of all our folks enrolled in Iowa’s SNAP program lost their benefits, that’s $5.8 million a month that our state would not see in our local grocery stores.”

by Amie Rivers
3/23/23

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