Ag Policy Blog
The Nuances of LIHEAP, SNAP and Heat and Eat
Following some concerns expressed about an article I wrote on Thursday, I have to build on some of the comments by Sen. Tom Harkin about potential nutrition cuts in the farm-bill conference negotiations.
Harkin said Thursday a compromise would cut about $8 billion in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits by changing the way states use the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, (LIHEAP) to boost SNAP benefits. Some state have been "gaming" the system, Harkin said.
Senate Agriculture Committee staffers were concerned about the lack of breadth in details regarding the comments made by Harkin and my lack of details in explaining what Harkin technically meant to explain.
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When a person or family goes to qualify for SNAP benefits, they fill out an income sheet and deduct certain expenses from that gross income to determine their food-stamp benefits. That includes "excess shelter deduction which includes utility costs. If a family qualifies for LIHEAP, this deduction can be boosted, driving a higher SNAP benefit for the family.
Practically every state factors in the LIHEAP provision. As many as 16 states have created "heat and eat" policies. They give residents LIHEAP aid for as little as $1 a year to qualify for the "heat and eat" provision. That boosted their SNAP benefits by an average of $1,080 per year, a Bloomberg report stated.
On the Senate floor in June 2012, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., acknowledged the "heat and eat" loophole, saying it was not congressional intent to give people $1 in heating aid to drive up SNAP benefits. "For a small number of states that are doing that, it is undermining the integrity of the program, in my judgment," Stabenow said.
A Congressional Research Service report -- I love those guys -- last May noted that under the provisions in the Senate bill, a household that received less than $10 in LIHEAP assistance would have to present other documentation factoring in their energy costs in order to receive an income deduction when factoring potential SNAP benefits. The House bill pushed it to a $20 floor.
Harkin effectively said the key provision in cutting nutrition is to accept the $20 level in the House bill. That was scored at a $8.7 billion savings.
Senate Agriculture Committee staff wanted to stress that even if people don't qualify for the "heat and eat" provision, that doesn't necessarily mean they would not qualify for SNAP. But those people would have to meet new LIHEAP thresholds to qualify for benefits above and beyond what they would normally receive.
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