Help me out here with some t-bagster talking points.
Food stamps need to be cut because money is being handed out indiscriminately.
According to the Rs, there is a "loophole" where heating and energy aid recipients thru LIHEAP automatically qualify for extra SNAP dollars. Google "LIHEAP loophole."
Here's my understanding of how it works.
The bagster talks as if it's almost a fraud, says people take their SNAP card and buy expensive seafood.
It's a scheme by states to get as much federal aid as possible.
So. (And I'm using food stamp and SNAP as synonyms, below).
Some states have "categorical eligibility." That means is you qualify for Program X, you are also qualified for Program Y. Apparently this is done for efficiency.
The Congressional Budget Office notes that, where there are states which use this, SNAP recipients are put on energy assistance to the tune of a few dollars a year, and in turn qualify for additional food stamps. This is done if they pay their own utility bills, but the states aren't looking at the bills themselves. They are simply qualified for an offset of $X a month in extra SNAP.
The CBO seems to say, making everyone show their energy bills might cut $1.5 billion a year from SNAP payouts, but the cost of the extra administrative work they cannot quantify.
One Republican says 15 states do this. Another says "at least 17". However, I have been unable to find an actual list, and my pet bagster, who prides himslef on having all the "facts," can't seem to get around to providing an answer.
So :: Which states are these?
And :: Do I have the right general idea how this works?
And :: Is there anywhere online where there's a good description of the issue? The CBO's report is online (from May this year, I think) but it devotes about four short paragraphs to the topic.