(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont and a coalition of 16 other governors from states throughout the country today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue voicing their opposition to a proposed rule that will change the way in which states are allowed to administer Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly known as food stamps. The change will disqualify more than 3 million low-income Americans from receiving food assistance.
“This change will have a detrimental effect on the ability of millions of low-income American families, including many Connecticut residents, to access desperately needed food assistance and force even those who are trying to gain financial independence to lose these benefits upon which they depend,” Governor Lamont said. “This will have numerous negative impacts, and chief among them are the health and safety of the youngest children in our communities. We cannot take food away from working families, children, people with disabilities, and seniors. Quite simply, this proposed rule change is a threat to the health and well-being of the most vulnerable people in our society.”
The proposed rule change would essentially eliminate the Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility policy, under which Connecticut and 42 other states and territories operate. In Connecticut, the Department of Social Services estimates that about 11,000 current SNAP enrollee households could lose benefits.
The governors who signed onto the letter include:
- Governor Gavin Newsom of California
- Governor Jared Polis of Colorado
- Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut
- Governor David Ige of Hawaii
- Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois
- Governor Janet Mills of Maine
- Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan
- Governor Steve Bullock of Montana
- Governor Steve Sisolak of Nevada
- Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey
- Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York
- Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico
- Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina
- Governor Kate Brown of Oregon
- Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania
- Governor Jay Inslee of Washington
- Governor Tony Evers of Wisconsin
**Download: Letter from a coalition of 17 governors to the US Department of Agriculture on SNAP rule proposal