State to fight USDA on $2.8M food stamp misstep
The state plans to appeal a decision that could leave it on the hook for nearly $3 million in wrongfully distributed food stamp benefits to around 70,000 families.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture deemed the incorrect benefit distribution a "systematic error" with the state's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in a letter to Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew.
In total, the USDA ruling against the state comes to a total of $4.8 million, but bonus SNAP awards given to Maine last year will reduce that amount to $2.8 million if its appeal is unsuccessful. The USDA gave extra money to states that demonstrated excellence in certain areas, the Portland Press Herald reported.
Following the discovery of the overpayments last year, Maine's DHHS sent letters to benefit recipients informing them that they owe the state government for extra money they received.
Mayhew told the paper that she was "surprised and dismayed" by the USDA decision, citing a March letter that directed her agency to seek repayment.
In a statement Thursday, Mayhew argued that the state's function in the program is administrative and that the federal government should take on the costs, not the state.
"The financial relationship within the program is between the recipient and the federal government," she said. "Any decision to reduce the amount of money that recipients must pay back should be footed by the federal government, not by the Maine taxpayer."
Federal benefits for food stamps were increased in 2010 to make up for increased heating costs and lowered again in April of 2011, though the state continued to pay at the higher rate through July.
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