Rep. Brownlee: Despite Democrats Constant Demands, Ohio Republicans Wait for the Last Minute to Provide Only Minor Relief to Ohioans Under SNAP

COLUMBUS — State Rep. Karen Brownlee (D-Symmes Twp) today released the following statement after Governor Mike DeWine signed an executive order directing the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to give $7M though the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to various Ohio food banks and up to $18M in funds to Ohioans who are at or below 50% of the federal poverty level who already qualify for Ohio Works First (OWF) cash assistance. 

While 63,000 of the 1.4 million Ohioans on SNAP may be provided some relief due to this effort, which excludes 529,000 children currently on SNAP, the $18M in emergency funds does not go far enough to support those living at the federal poverty level. For example, a family of four making roughly $17,000/year or more will not be eligible for this benefit. While the funding release was a small step in the right direction, this insufficient allocation of funds is hardly enough to address the urgency of this crisis in the state. 

“The Ohio rainy day fund has almost $4 billion. 1.4 million Ohioans will lose SNAP tomorrow, including over 500,000 children. It is raining,” said Rep. Brownlee. “Ohio House Democrats offered multiple solutions for stopgap funding to cover the $200 million/month need. The Republican response is not enough to ensure we feed Ohioans.”

Due to federal shutdown and failure to allocate funds for SNAP, on November 1st hundreds of millions of dollars will not be allocated to the SNAP benefit cards that 1.4 million Ohioans depend upon. 

House Democrats raised the urgent issue of the SNAP funding crisis on the House floor earlier this week via an amendment that would provide full relief for Ohioans under SNAP. House Republicans voted down the proposed amendment, stating that SNAP benefit funding is not an Ohio issue. Overall, the federal shutdown will cost Ohioans a benefit loss of roughly $200M per month, nearly eight times the amount of funding provided by the Governor’s executive order. 

As House Democrats noted in their letter to the Governor earlier this week, the state of Ohio currently has resources available via several funds to immediately and fully address the issue. It is a question of will power, not ability, regarding whether the state ensures seniors, families and children have food on their tables come November.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The letter signed Tuesday by all 34 members of the House Democratic Caucus is attached to this release.