State legislators have proposed a dangerous bill (H.B. 1659) that would demonize poor families and cut off their access to help with basic needs.

We need your help to stop it in its tracks.

Read the message below and if you agree fill the form and TAKE ACTION! 

I’m urging you to oppose House Bill 1659. This measure would demonize poor families, cut off their access to basic needs, create new bureaucracies that would cost us millions in state taxes, and hurt local economies across Pennsylvania.

Proponents of House Bill 1659 are trying to fast-track the measure with bogus claims that mandatory work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would save taxpayer money because SNAP keeps Americans from working. But that simply isn’t true.

The fact is that most SNAP recipients who can work do work. The number of SNAP households with workers has been rising for more than a decade, tripling from 2000 to 2015 --- suggesting that more working families are turning to SNAP to supplement under-employment, not unemployment.

If you hate big government, then you have to hate SNAP work requirements, which are expensive to administer. Pennsylvania pays half the cost of administering the SNAP program --- including monitoring work activity. Monitoring compliance with new work requirements would cost millions of dollars we do not have. 

Taxpayers aren’t the only losers. Local economies suffer. Every dollar spent in SNAP generates $1.70 in economic activity. Imposing sanctions on needy Pennsylvanians means these individuals will lose federal SNAP dollars that otherwise would be spent in local supermarkets and farmer’s markets. 

Let’s be honest: Individuals who lose SNAP benefits still must eat.

Taking away food assistance will not create work opportunities in areas currently lacking jobs. Taking away food assistance will not increase hours for part-time workers who would gladly work more hours. Taking away food assistance will not expand access to education or skills training opportunities for low-wage workers to advance to positions with better pay and benefits. Taking away food assistance will not address the barriers to work that some individuals face.

SNAP helps keep food on the table for thousands of low-wage and part-time workers who can’t find steady employment, veterans, people who are homeless, and people struggling with addictions, in addition to children, seniors, and people with disabilities.

This bill is bad for Pennsylvania families, bad for Pennsylvania taxpayers and bad for Pennsylvania’s economy. I urge you to oppose House Bill 1659.