[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/ID\/31\/connecticut-following-in-new-yorks-food-stamps-footsteps#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/ID\/31\/connecticut-following-in-new-yorks-food-stamps-footsteps","headline":"Connecticut Following in New York\u2019s Food Stamps Footsteps","name":"Connecticut Following in New York\u2019s Food Stamps Footsteps","description":"Last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to subsidize food stamps recipients for \u201cHeat and Eat\u201d so they could still gain access to the benefits that they thought they\u2019d lost.","datePublished":"2018-07-06","dateModified":"2018-07-29","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/author\/admin#Person","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/author\/admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26111862ca029071a00a76fae48c51b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26111862ca029071a00a76fae48c51b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"FoodStamps.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","width":100,"height":100},"url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/ID\/31\/connecticut-following-in-new-yorks-food-stamps-footsteps","about":["Congress Attacks Foodstamps","Foodstamp Tactics","News"],"wordCount":619,"keywords":["31"],"articleBody":"Last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to subsidize food stamps recipients for \u201cHeat and Eat\u201d so they could still gain access to the benefits that they thought they\u2019d lost. It wasn\u2019t a decision without controversy, and now another state is taking the same route\u2014Connecticut.What did New York DoIn a statement,\u00a0Governor Cuomo announced\u00a0that the state of New York would be funneling $6 million from the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance and putting it into the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the organization that would pay food stamps recipients\u2019 Home Energy Assistance Program contributions.This move was huge because although it only cost New York $6 million ($20 per person of 300,000 total), it ended up bringing in much more in extra benefits. In terms of exact numbers, New York\u2019s $6 million contribution would work out to a total of $457.2 million extra in benefits for the 300,000 citizens who are privy to the program, as now they\u2019ll be able to get an extra $1,524 a year.And Connecticut\u2026?Governor Dannel P. Malloy is doing the same\u00a0as Governor Cuomo, albeit on a smaller scale. Instead of having his state kick in $6 million like New York, Malloy\u2019s order will only be $1.4 million in federal energy aid, and directed at 50,000 people, not 300,000. This will raise low-income Connecticut residents\u2019 contributions from the previous $1 to the newly-mandated $20, resulting in their not losing the $112 a month in extra benefits.The total amount that Governor Malloy\u2019s move will cost the federal government will be $67 million, or $65.6 million after his initial contribution is subtracted. Vermont is also thinking of doing the same thing, although their spending increase would be much less, but still a huge jump nonetheless: an increase of $325,000 to $400,000 to maintain $6 million in food stamp money.But in Other WordsThere are\u00a0vocal critics of this move, of course, with the founder and president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Robert Greenstein, saying: \u201cCongress did not intend for states to stretch the benefit rules this way and longstanding SNAP supporters like myself find it difficult to defend.\u201dPolicy analyst Rachel Sheffield of the conservative Heritage Foundation goes even further: \u201cThe extra money being spent is an artificial boost of an amount that a household is receiving, but they\u2019re doing so through a scheme, basically. We need to be sure that money spent goes to those most in need rather than states using a loophole to boost money they\u2019re receiving.\u201dHowever,\u00a0there\u2019s also the argument\u00a0to be made that the extra boost in money means more people will be able to eat as often as they need to instead of making a tough choice between food and bills. Marissa Parisi, the executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, explains that an extra $90 a month in food benefits means more to recipients than critics think. \u201cFor a family of four, that\u2019s a week or more of groceries.\u201dHow this new food stamps move will turn out is anyone\u2019s guess, with three possible options: an amendment is made to close this loophole\/saving grace; Congress does nothing and lets states do as they please; or the move carries on until the next Farm Bill is passed and then something is done about it."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ID","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/\/ID\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"31","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/\/ID\/\/31\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Connecticut Following in New York\u2019s Food Stamps Footsteps","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/ID\/31\/connecticut-following-in-new-yorks-food-stamps-footsteps#breadcrumbitem"}]}]