Bill Text: MI HR0082 | 2015-2016 | 98th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: A resolution to urge the Congress of the United States to enact legislation that will reverse cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next decade and that will remove the higher threshold of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding to qualify for additional SNAP benefits
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 42-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-05-12 - Referred To Committee On Families, Children, And Seniors [HR0082 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2015-HR0082-Introduced.html
Rep. Driskell offered the following resolution:
House Resolution No. 82.
A resolution to urge the Congress of the United States to enact legislation that will reverse cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next decade and that will remove the higher threshold of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding to qualify for additional SNAP benefits.
Whereas, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides resources for individuals and families who would otherwise be unable to afford enough food, while increasing revenue for retailers and farmers; and
Whereas, In 2014, the U.S. Congress cut SNAP funding by $8.7 billion over 10 years. Of those funds, $183 million would have gone to Michigan SNAP recipients and from them to Michigan food retailers and farmers. As a result, 20 percent of the state's recipients, around 170,000 households, will see cuts to their food budgets; and
Whereas, The U.S. Congress changed the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to require more than $20 in home heating benefits per household to trigger increased SNAP benefits, up from the previous $1 threshold. This change makes it harder for states like Michigan to use LIHEAP effectively to provide for the basic needs of citizens through "Heat and Eat" programs. The resulting reductions in SNAP benefits negatively affect the most vulnerable sectors of SNAP benefits recipients, 43 percent of which are children and 26 percent of which are elderly in Michigan; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the Congress of the United States to enact legislation that will reverse the $8.7 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the next decade and that will remove the higher threshold of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding to qualify recipients for additional SNAP benefits; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.
