By Metro.pr - Following a group of organizations that wrote letters to Congress in support of Puerto Rico's inclusion in the program (SNAP), New Progressive Party (NPP) Senate Alternate Spokesman Carmelo Ríos also advocated for Puerto Rico's full inclusion in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program under which all 50 states operate.
"SNAP is a direct assistance program for the neediest people. With SNAP we will see a significant increase, over 12 percent more, in the money allocated for nutritional assistance. The benefits per family, in this line item, would increase by a lot, which would help mitigate the effects of the pandemic that will be with us for a long time. That is why we are supporting the initiative to include Puerto Rico in the SNAP program," Ríos said.
Currently pending in Congress is House Resolution 4077 (Senate Resolution 2192) which makes the integration of the U.S. territories into SNAP viable.
"We are currently under the Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP), which does not allow for increases in times of crisis such as the passage of a weather event, earthquake or pandemic. Those increases to NAP have to be made under Congress, not automatic. That changes with SNAP, which allows in times of greater need to increase the amount recipients receive. We have to advocate, also, for lowering the eligibility requirements for SNAP, that is something that can be done," added the senator for the Bayamón District.
"In the past, there were some issues related to SNAP that raised red flags, particularly that all businesses working with the program would be required to have an automated Point of Sales system, and although the SNAP program provides a line item to assist them, the reality is that 20 years ago it would have been too costly. Today it is not, since almost all of our retail businesses, including small and medium-sized companies, have these systems," said the New Progressive senator.
Ríos also noted that the actions of Pedro Pierluisi's administration in the management of federal funds allocated to nutritional assistance programs have been positively evaluated by the federal Department of Agriculture, which administers the funds for these types of programs.
Source: https://www.metro.pr/pr/noticias/2021/09/12/abogan-inclusion-puerto-rico-programa-ayuda-federal-snap.html