HARRISBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania's ability to provide food assistance benefits without in-person interviews is set to expire July 31. From WESA, Liz Reid reports Governor Tom Wolf is asking the federal government to extend waivers related to the program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state has received a series of 30-day waivers for various aspects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. But in a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Wolf requested a 90-day waiver saying that would make it easier to plan for the future and work more efficiently. State Human Services Secretary Theresa Miller says it would be premature to end these waivers this summer.
“Continuing to be smart and safe about the way we operate and not doing in-person interviews, for example, that’s just going to make sense going forward, and our fear is that the federal government seems to want to get back to normal faster than I think we’re going to be able to do that safely.”
Statewide enrollment in SNAP has jumped by about 10 percent since February. Miller expects a need to increase once enhanced unemployment payments expire at the end of July.
Miller pointed out that unemployment benefits will soon be scaled back significantly, when an extra $600 in weekly payments provided under the federal CARES Act ends on July 31. She said she expects enrollment in SNAP and other public assistance programs to continue to increase through the summer and into fall.
“Unless further action comes from Congress and the federal government to extend additional unemployment assistance or make an additional stimulus payment, people in Pennsylvania and across the country may soon find themselves in increasingly uncertain circumstances,” Miller said.
Other waivers set to expire July 31 include a suspension of efforts to collect overpayments to SNAP recipients, and an extension of the timeline for appeal and disqualification hearings. Three other waiver extension requests are outstanding and are set to expire June 30, including the extension of emergency allotments to SNAP households who aren’t currently maxing out their benefits.
President Donald Trump has been bullish in his approach to reopening the economy. He initially said things would begin to reopen on Easter. Two months later, as restrictions are lifting, infection numbers are surging rapidly in states including Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma and Florida. Even Allegheny County, where case counts have been relatively low overall, has seen an uptick in infections over the past several days.
The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.