NW Illinois News

Rep. Tony McCombie recently shared the story of her time when she was younger and her mother relied on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“Many years ago I was questioned by a new clerk using my mother’s ‘SNAP’ card to buy her Ensure. She was only able to eat through a feeding tube at that point. Luckily I shopped local and the owner knew me and quickly remedied the situation but today there is little to question and grocery clerks around the district do talk to me about fraud,” McCombie wrote on Facebook.

SNAP benefits are given to people who need help buying groceries or, in times of emergencies, hot food. Money is deposited into SNAP accounts monthly — the amount is based on an applicant’s income.

The Republican Study Committee is calling for big changes to the SNAP program, according to farmweeknow.com. Glenn “GT” Thompson, a Republican legislator from Pennsylvania, said SNAP will cost taxpayers $1 trillion over the next 10 years. He is calling for changes to the income and employment criteria to qualify for the program and setting stricter guidelines around what foods SNAP users can spend their benefits on.

Similar policy suggestions are also outlined in a wide-ranging document, called the “Blueprint to Save America: FY 2023 Budget,” published in June by the Republican Study Committee (RSC). U.S. Reps. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro), Darin LaHood (R-Dunlap) and Mary Miller (R-Oakland) are members of the RSC.

The RSC in its proposal further calls for consolidating SNAP into individual state block grant programs and implementing “anti-fraud” measures like showing a state ID when using an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card, barring using an EBT card in other states and prohibiting cash withdrawals of EBT benefits.

ABC News reported the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) opened applications for grants to work to have technology and systems that’ll support SNAP online shopping.

To learn more information about SNAP, visit the USDA SNAP webpage.

Not all items covered by SNAP are eligible for the grocery sales tax suspension, according to GoBankingRates.com.

Some of those items that aren't covered include things like food that are heated at the point of sale, like coffee, pizza, tea, soup, roast or fried chicken.