Whitmer repeals "asset test" for food assistance in Michigan
(CBS DETROIT) - After multiple tries in the Michigan Capitol, new legislation was signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week that removes the asset test from the application process to receive food assistance in our state.
"We are now the 37th state in the country to do this, or there are states that have been doing this for a long time," said Monique Stanton, the president and CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy. "We want to make sure that we are not pushing people further into poverty, further into crisis before they get the help that they need."
Under the previous law, households with more than $15,000 in assets were ineligible for food assistance. Those assets could be counted as cars or money in the bank. Families were often left with tough decisions like selling their cars or depleting their savings to qualify.
"We want to make sure that when people are at a critical crisis point in their life, that they're not depleting all of the resources that they have because it just further pushes somebody down into poverty," said Stanton.
State Sen. Jeff Irwin tells CBS News Detroit he had been working to repeal this asset test since it was implemented by Gov. Rick Snyder.
"There are too many situations in which we require people to become completely destitute and broken before they can get any help," he said.
The issue Irwin often ran into when he introduced this repeal was concerns over fraud. An issue State Rep. Matt Hall pointed out in a statement after the asset test's repeal last week.
"Without this test measuring people's wealth, even lottery winners and other millionaires could rake in food stamps paid for with our tax dollars that should be going to those who truly need help feeding their families," Hall said.
"That's just not true," Irwin said in response to that argument. "That's just an example of people trying to find a political line. Rather than shake our finger at them, deny them help and use them as political pawns. We need to help our neighbors who are struggling."
Advocates say this change could actually help lessen the burden on our state's food banks.
"What happens anytime there's a change in federal policy or state policy that negatively affects people's access to benefits? The charitable food networks become the safety net to the government's safety net," said Phil Knight the executive director of the Food Bank Council of Michigan. "I don't really believe that government should be pushing their responsibility off onto the charitable sector. So I think anything, any policy that shortens our lines is a good policy."