First thing’s first: We all should be able to agree true welfare reform puts people on a pathway toward prosperity and independence. After all, the best anti-poverty program is a good job.
It’s quite another thing to pull the rug out from under rural Maine and tout it as a policy success. That’s exactly what the LePage administration is doing as it brags about cutting off thousands of Mainers from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.
Starting in 2008, Maine took advantage of a waiver the federal government made available because of the hardships caused by the Great Recession. The waiver, which temporarily eliminates work requirements for non-disabled, childless adults receiving food stamps, is the federal government’s acknowledgement that people should not go hungry when they are unable, through no fault of their own, to find work. Typically, there is a three-month limit on SNAP benefits for a 36-month period for food stamp recipients who aren’t working.
Forty-two states, including all other New England states, accepted the waiver this year. Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services, however, rejected it. Nine thousand Mainers lost their food assistance as a result. More are cut off each day.
Mainers want to work. They aren’t choosing $100 per month in food assistance over a paycheck for a lot more. We all understand food assistance should be as temporary as possible, a means of staying afloat until people can get back on their feet.
The economic picture is far from rosy. Maine has been trailing the nation and the New England region in its recovery from a deep and prolonged recession. A new analysis from Pew Charitable Trusts puts us at 49th in the nation in terms of jobs recovered.
The recovery has been especially difficult in rural Maine, where communities still are rocked by mill and plant closings, such as Great Northern Paper in East Millinocket, Verso Paper in Bucksport and UTC Fire & Security in Pittsfield. Unemployment figures paint a stark picture with areas including Washington and Hancock counties having rates of 9.5 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively — more than double that of Cumberland County’s 4.2 percent.
Maine’s job growth is centered in Greater Portland, which accounts for about four out of five new jobs in recent years. But if you live in a rural community such as Allagash, Calais, East Millinocket, Eustis, Mexico or Milo, it really doesn’t matter whether Portland is booming.
Given that reality, is it just a matter of simply asserting, as the LePage administration does, that able-bodied adults must work at least 20 hours per week to receive food assistance? What if the jobs simply aren’t there? Or what if employers can’t give workers enough hours? Should Mainers go hungry because of where they live?
Maine already has the fourth worst very low food security rate in the nation. Food pantries and soup kitchens already are challenged to meet the high demand for food. We can expect to see the situation worsen, with more Mainers pushed deeper into poverty, with the slashing of SNAP benefits.
I have a bill moving through the Legislature that recognizes the differences in regional economies. It understands a sledgehammer approach won’t move our state forward when it comes to getting people into sustainable employment or growing our economy.
LD 1052 is a modest, commonsense proposal. It directs DHHS to seek the federal waiver for areas with high unemployment. The bill ensures we consider the conditions of each individual labor market and assess whether jobs are available for SNAP recipients where they actually live — not somewhere else, such as South Portland, Freeport or Kittery.
It’s likely Aroostook, Washington, Piscataquis and Somerset counties would qualify for the waiver under the bill, along with communities including Farmington, Lincoln, Millinocket, Pittsfield and Rumford — all areas where it’s widely recognized economic hardship exists.
I know I’m not alone in believing we as Mainers need to stand together. We cannot turn our backs on our fellow Mainers simply because they live in rural Maine.
Rep. Scott Hamann, D-South Portland, is a member of the Health and Human Services Committee.