[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/ID\/32\/new-york-ignores-closing-of-heat-and-eat-loophole#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/ID\/32\/new-york-ignores-closing-of-heat-and-eat-loophole","headline":"New York Ignores Closing of Heat and Eat Loophole","name":"New York Ignores Closing of Heat and Eat Loophole","description":"Just a few weeks ago, Congress signed the new Farm Bill, which covered both agricultural and food stamps\u2019 needs. One of the biggest debating points was the contentious \u201cHeat and Eat\u201d policy,","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\/32\/new-york-ignores-closing-of-heat-and-eat-loophole","about":["Congress Attacks Foodstamps","News"],"wordCount":585,"keywords":["32"],"articleBody":"Just a few weeks ago, Congress signed the new Farm Bill, which covered both agricultural and food stamps\u2019 needs. One of the biggest debating points was the contentious \u201cHeat and Eat\u201d policy, a loophole that was widely exploited in every state. That loophole\u2019s since been amended, but New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is doing things a little differently.Heat and EatAlthough everyone\u2019s probably familiar with the \u201cHeat and Eat\u201d policy, here it is one more time for good measure: SNAP recipients who paid rented either also paid utilities as extra, or had the utilities bundled in. Those who pay extra are eligible for extra assistance from their state, while many states also extended the same provision to those who had utilities included in their rent. To circumvent this piece of legislation, states set the minimum of energy assistance at $1, which has since been raised to $20 with the signing of the new Farm Bill. While this hasn\u2019t cut anyone off from the food stamps they received before the Farm Bill was signed, it did mean they didn\u2019t get access to extra provisions that the \u201cHeat and Eat\u201d policy unlocked.Meanwhile, in New York\u2026New Yorkers have long had a reputation for doing things their own way, regardless of whatever the rest of the country is also doing. Good or bad, it\u2019s a big part of the state\u2019s personality and now they\u2019re at it again. Governor Andrew Cuomo, concerned that 300,000 families would go hungry,\u00a0said in a statement: \u201cNew York is stepping up to help families in need who are losing vital food assistance because of Washington cuts to the SNAP program. These federal cuts have made it harder for our state\u2019s most vulnerable residents to put food on the table. The State has intervened on behalf of these low-income New Yorkers to make sure they can get food for themselves and their families.Governor Cuomo plans on having New York funnel $6 million difference from the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) to the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), essentially paying for people\u2019s Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) contributions when they can\u2019t. On an individual basis, it\u2019s not a lot of money per person and only works out to $20 per year per person, but the gesture is huge. Families or individuals who now won\u2019t be cut off from the extra benefits can keep the extra average of $127 per month.CounterpointCritics will, of course, point to the fact that New York\u2019s personal bump of $6 million will\u00a0end up costing the federal program a lot more. If even one individual is considered, the $20 New York is paying for them amounts to their being able to get an extra $1,524 a year\u2014a\u00a0huge\u00a0difference. Multiply that by the 300,000 households who will benefit from Governor Cuomo\u2019s action, and the amount swells to $457.2 million\u2014a mighty high price to pay, or a mighty fine return on investment, depending on how you look at it.No doubt, Governor Cuomo\u2019s move will prove to be a polarizing one, but the families on the receiving end are no doubt behind him on every step.What are\u00a0your\u00a0thoughts on Governor Cuomo’s plan to skirt the closed “Heat and Eat” loophole?"},{"@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":"32","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/\/ID\/\/32\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"New York Ignores Closing of Heat and Eat Loophole","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/ID\/32\/new-york-ignores-closing-of-heat-and-eat-loophole#breadcrumbitem"}]}]