New Hampshire Senate adjusts food stamp program

The New Hampshire Senate has passed a bill that would adjust eligibility for food stamps back to pre-recession standards.

Americans for Prosperity-New Hampshire (AFP-NH) said the move shows the economy has improved.

“Anti-poverty programs should only go to those who are in poverty, but if the state doesn’t check an individual’s assets, we have no idea if an applicant is actually in poverty before getting food stamps,” AFP-NH State Director Greg Moore said in a press release. “At the same time, when New Hampshire has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, we should not ask taxpayers to fund welfare programs for healthy, childless adults who aren’t working. The best welfare program is a good job.”

Moore has previously said the stamp program was working well before the 2009 recession.

“The opponents of this bill must think that our state’s food stamp policy prior to 2009 was a disaster, but it was working just fine for the needy citizens of New Hampshire,” he said. “Returning to these same eligibility standards will simply ensure that taxpayer-funded welfare programs go to those who are truly in need. As a state, we should be working together to give our citizens the tools to move towards self-sufficiency, and this bill does just that.”

The bill, known as Senate Bill 7, reverses changes made by the Obama administration, which stopped the state from looking at an applicant's assets and waived the work requirement for childless able-bodied adults.