DAVENPORT, Iowa — A proposed Iowa bill could make it harder for people to access SNAP benefits, according to some nonprofit groups in the Quad Cities area.
Senate Study Bill 1105 would create an 'asset test' where a household's assets could not exceed $2,750. That limit would be $4,250 if the household contains a person with a disability or someone 60 years of age or older.
The assessed value would include cash on hand, bank accounts, property other than personal belongings and household goods.
One vehicle would be excluded from the total value. Any additional vehicles not used directly for generating income such as taxis and tractors, which have a fair market value exceeding $4,650 would be included in the asset limit.
Lawmakers in support of the bill said these restrictions would help ensure that SNAP benefits are not misused - that only those in need will be able to use them. Some local charity groups disagree.
WQAD spoke with Lena Pillers, director of King's Harvest Ministries, a Davenport nonprofit that gives hot meals and free groceries to the homeless and low-income families. She said the restrictions would inevitably kick more people out of using SNAP, putting a greater burden on charity services in the community.
"We give about 200 bags of groceries in a month - that would definitely increase if we had a bill that would not allow people to be getting food stamps because that's going to eliminate people's access to food," Pillers said. "That would cause us to probably have an influx of people, which would ultimately result in us needing more donations, which is already a struggle to get in the first place."
With operation costs continuing to rise, she said an increased demand would make it that much harder to serve those in need.
"Since COVID, our donations have gone down tremendously," she said. "With the increase in pricing, our donations have also gone down tremendously. I mean, we can't serve eggs and things like that, just because the price of eggs is just too much for our budget to handle."
Pillers also disagreed with the idea that the bill would help prevent misuse of SNAP benefits.
""In every situation, you're going to have those few people that are going to take advantage of things - but for sure, I would say the majority of people, they need SNAP - they need them for survival," she said. "Food is a basic need and this is a benefit that we greatly need in this community."
WQAD also spoke to the River Bend Food Bank in Davenport. They agreed with the viewpoint and said the increased administrative costs of asset tests does more harm than good for states.
For example, they noted a case example with Pennsylvania. The state tried using asset tests in 2012 before abandoning them in 2015.
The proposed bill recently passed a subcommittee vote but still requires more review before being voted on by the Iowa House and Senate.