AUGUSTA — Maine’s health and human services chief on Monday pressed members of the state’s congressional delegation to join her in pushing for federal changes to overhaul the food stamps program.
In a letter, Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew said Maine residents are concerned about the “proliferation of welfare benefits and seemingly lack of reasonable limits on their use.”
About one in five Maine residents receive benefits in the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program, and it has ballooned to $367 million in fiscal year 2013, Mayhew said in the letter to Republican Sen. Susan Collins, independent Sen. Angus King, Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree and Republican Rep.-elect Bruce Poliquin.
Mayhew included a list of 15 recommended changes that she outlined to members of the State Human Services Secretaries’ Innovation Group last week.
Among the recommendations is putting limits on the number of electronic benefit transfer cards that recipients can receive. She’s also wants the federal government to require that the cards include recipients’ photos and to ban the purchase of products that have “no nutritional value,” such as energy drinks and candy.
Mayhew is clashing with federal officials over Maine’s decision to put photos of recipients on EBT cards.
In a letter last week, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials threatened to cut administrative funding for the program if the state doesn’t make clear to recipients that having their photos placed on the benefit cards is optional.
In fiscal year 2013, the federal government paid about $8.9 million, about half the cost of administering the program in the state. Funding for the benefits would not be affected if the federal government pulls administrative funding.
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