Gov. Jay Inslee sent a letter today to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue opposing the Administration's plan to take away food assistance from 755,000 Americans who are struggling to find work.
USDA has proposed taking away state flexibility in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which currently provides basic food to more than 920,000 Washingtonians. The program is also a key economic driver in local communities, supporting food producers, farmers’ markets and retailers.
“This misguided and harmful policy would severely restrict access to food assistance for those who need it most, exacerbating hunger and making it even more difficult for people in poverty to find work. It removes state flexibility, rips away food assistance from 755,000 vulnerable Americans, worsens our homelessness crisis and fails to achieve the Administration’s stated goal of improving self-sufficiency,” Inslee wrote. “It is a cruel and mean-spirited policy that damages people and businesses alike.”
If implemented, the rule would eliminate flexibility in 26 counties in Washington state and put food assistance at risk for over 91,000 Washingtonians who currently participate in SNAP, according to the State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).
Read the full letter here.