Rick Scott Goes to Bat for Steve Southerland on SNAP

On Wednesday night, Gov. Rick Scott wrote U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in support of Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Southerlands amendment to the Farm Bill which will allow states more authority on handling Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP).

I write to express and urge support for the Providing Relief to Individuals Desiring Employment (PRIDE) Act, which will be offered by U.S. Representative Steve Southerland as an amendment to the Farm Bill, Scott wrote. The PRIDE Act will allow governors to apply for a federal waiver to implement work, education, and training requirements in their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Since 2000, SNAP has grown from $20 billion to $85 billion nationally and has become the second most costly federal means-tested assistance program. According to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, half of SNAP heads of households in 2011 had stopped looking for work, Scott continued. U.S. Representative Southerlands proposal recognizes the need to reform long-running government-assistance programs to ensure their availability for future generations while allowing states to modernize and tailor their administration of these federal programs.

Scott insisted Southerlands amendment would help Florida. Floridas Re-employment Assistance Program requires claimants to document and submit a minimum of five unique and verifiable work searches per week, Scott wrote. Requiring similar job-seeking measures for SNAP will help support our ultimate goal of every Florida family having a great job.