house Resolution No.264
Rep. Lasinski offered the following resolution:
Whereas, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest federal food safety net program in the United States, serving more than 37 million people annually. SNAP ensures that people across the country have access to food and helps people buy the food they need for good health; and
Whereas, On March 27, 2020, the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law approving Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. FPUC provides an additional $600 per week in unemployment compensation from March 29, 2020, through July 25, 2020, to any worker eligible for state or federal unemployment compensation; and
Whereas, Currently, FPUC is treated as unearned income under the federal regulations that determine SNAP eligibility. This leaves more households ineligible for SNAP because eligibility is, in part, based on meeting certain income thresholds. For example, the net monthly income for a family of four may not exceed $2,146. As a consequence, more households exceed the income eligibility threshold despite members being unemployed. For households who remain eligible, treating FPUC as income can decrease the monthly allotment of SNAP benefits; and
Whereas, The state of Michigan submitted a waiver request to the United States Department of Agriculture to exclude FPUC funding from the definition of income under SNAP regulations to allow more Michigan residents to receive benefits during the COVID-19 Pandemic, but the waiver was denied; and
Whereas, In Michigan, other assistance programs, such as State Emergency Relief, Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, do not consider FPUC as income for the purposes of benefit determination. These changes place administrative burden on staff because the income must be documented manually and differently than for other assistance programs; and
Whereas, The exclusion of this temporary benefit in income calculations for SNAP eligibility determinations would allow low-income households to continue receiving SNAP benefits at a time when finding new employment is nearly impossible. It would help households that are struggling to meet their basic needs during the COVID-19 Pandemic; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the federal government to reconsider and approve a federal waiver to exclude Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation from counting as income under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the United States Secretary of Agriculture and the Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services.