Representatives France, Howell and Zephyr, Missoula County opposes HB 340: Require child support cooperation for food stamp eligibility, up for hearing at 8 a.m. tomorrow, Feb. 2, in the House Judiciary Committee. HB 340 is a bill that is harmful to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants, will make finances harder for families with complicated custodial and financial situations and would increase food insecurity in Missoula County and Montana. It would cause noncustodial parents to be determined ineligible for SNAP during any months in which they are behind on child support payments. For individuals living on low incomes, work schedules and income can fluctuate month to month, through no fault of their own. This legislation will only increase financial strain on those individuals, making it harder for them to support their children in the future. Also, most Women, Infants and Children (WIC) participants are also SNAP participants. SNAP participants are adjunctively eligible for WIC, meaning they are not required to provide additional verification of income to enroll in WIC. If SNAP is cut, not only do these families face food insecurity, but they face additional administrative barriers to enrolling and keeping WIC benefits.
Representatives France, Howell and Zephyr,
ReplyDeleteMissoula County opposes HB 340: Require child support cooperation for food stamp eligibility, up for hearing at 8 a.m. tomorrow, Feb. 2, in the House Judiciary Committee. HB 340 is a bill that is harmful to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants, will make finances harder for families with complicated custodial and financial situations and would increase food insecurity in Missoula County and Montana. It would cause noncustodial parents to be determined ineligible for SNAP during any months in which they are behind on child support payments. For individuals living on low incomes, work schedules and income can fluctuate month to month, through no fault of their own. This legislation will only increase financial strain on those individuals, making it harder for them to support their children in the future. Also, most Women, Infants and Children (WIC) participants are also SNAP participants. SNAP participants are adjunctively eligible for WIC, meaning they are not required to provide additional verification of income to enroll in WIC. If SNAP is cut, not only do these families face food insecurity, but they face additional administrative barriers to enrolling and keeping WIC benefits.
Please oppose HB 340.