Statehouse News Bureau

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Trump Administration Wants To End Food Stamps For Some Ohioans

By Jo Ingles

Published July 23, 2019 at 8:41 PM EDT

The Trump administration wants to cut food stamp benefits for about three million Americans.

Lisa Hamler Fugitt with the Ohio Association of Foodbanks says taking away the ability of states to automatically enroll residents who receive welfare benefits is a bad idea.

“Why is it that the Trump administration is so hellbent on making the lives of the poor even more miserable? It’s beyond me," Hamler Fugitt says.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says state governments have misused this flexibility. In a written statement, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services says it is awaiting further details to determine the how Ohio SNAP recipients would be affected. And the state agency notes there is a 60-day comment period before the change can take place. As for Hamler-Fugitt, she says she and other advocates for the poor plan to speak out loudly against this change.