Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller sent a letter to Pennsylvania’s Congressional Delegation, urging them to extend public assistance. In the letter, Miller urges the Delegation’s support:
– Extending emergency SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) allotments permitted under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to all SNAP recipients rather than just households making less than the monthly maximum as permitted by the United States Department of Agriculture. This approach excludes 40 percent of SNAP recipients, many of whom are the lowest income SNAP recipients.
– Increasing the maximum monthly SNAP benefit, as included in the Heroes Act passed in May, by at least 15 percent and the minimum benefit to at least $30 for the duration of the economic crisis so the 1.8 million Pennsylvanians who rely on SNAP have enough funds to feed themselves and their families and support local food retailers, grocers and agricultural producers.
– Extending the Pandemic Economic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program for the full 2020-21 school year so Pennsylvania can continue to provide assistance to families of children who would normally receive free or reduced-priced meals if their school was open for in-person instruction. This benefit has been a resource for families who would not otherwise have children at home, and because P-EBT funds carry the same stipulations as SNAP benefits, they carry the same economic boost to food retailers across our commonwealth. This program must be extended and clarified in order to account for the varying educational plans for the 2020-21 school year.
– Creating certainty for states administering assistance programs by preserving waivers that help states maintain access to critical assistance programs, mitigate risk of spreading virus during required interviews with benefit recipients, and ease workflow and processing times as states anticipate increasing assistance applications without an FPUC extension. The USDA has indicated an interest in returning to normal operations, despite COVID-19 remaining an ongoing, serious threat. Miller also encouraged tying this flexibility to state and federal disaster declarations to give states better predictability and ease a transition back to normal workflow.
– Resuming FPUC payments and extending additional stimulus funds to Pennsylvanians affected by this crisis.
“As members of the United States Congress, each of you has the power to continue relief that will protect hard-working Pennsylvanians affected by this time of crisis. We must be sure that individuals and families in Pennsylvania and around the country do not default on mortgage, auto, and student loan payments; face eviction from rental properties; rely on credit card debt and predatory loans to cover costs; or go without essential needs like food, health care, utilities, or shelter just to make ends meet,” wrote Miller. “We must avoid a prolonged economic downturn and a crisis like the Great Depression and 2008 financial crisis. Those crises upended peoples’ lives and livelihoods and caused grave, long-term damage to the people we all serve. We can prevent this, and each of you can be a part of protecting your constituents from similar turmoil.”
Enrollment statewide for Medicaid has increased by more than 178,000 people since February, for a total enrollment of more than 3 million people in July – a 6.3 percent increase. Enrollment for SNAP statewide has increased by about 101,500 people since February, for a total enrollment of about 1.9 million in July – a 5.8 percent increase. DHS anticipates a prolonged need, and urged Pennsylvania’s Congressional Delegation to consider what states need to properly respond to this need in their next relief package.
“Millions of people across the country have lost their jobs, or experienced a cutback in their hours, as a direct result of COVID-19’s unprecedented assault on our way of life. While we are all in this together, and we will overcome this, many are still struggling under our own individual circumstances that none of us predicted six months ago,” said Miller. “SNAP and Medicaid are here for anyone who needs extra help affording food or accessing health care. These are basic needs that we all have, and any one of us could find ourselves in need of some help one day.”
