Press Releases

Chellie Pingree appealed to President Obama not to reduce benefits in Maine and 16 other states

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced this morning that the Obama Administration has agreed to extend increased SNAP (formerly the food stamp program) benefits for recipients in Maine and 16 other states. Pingree appealed to the Administration not to make the reduction this fall, and at that point won a 3-month reprieve. Today's decision will further extend those increased benefits through March.

"Families in Maine were facing some dramatic cuts in their food stamps," Pingree said. "With Christmas and winter coming on, this is the worst possible time to pull the rug out from under people who are already struggling to make ends meet."

In 2008, SNAP recipients in Maine and 16 other states got extra benefits because of the high price of fuel. This special waiver program was originally set to expire October 1st, but now the program will continue through March and the Administration has agreed not to reduce benefits by more than $20 a month after that.

Pingree said she heard from desperate constituents who had learned they would suddenly have substantially less money to spend on food.

78-year old Maddie Pinkham lives in Topsham and contacted Pingree when she was informed that her monthly food stamp benefit would be reduced from $200 to $150. She suffers from diabetes and says the reduction in benefits would be hard for her to handle.

"With that taken away I'd be down to eating food that isn't good for my diabetes. I wouldn't last very long, I'm afraid," Pinkham said.

Pingree wrote to President Obama this week, urging him to extend the program.

"In Maine, we rely on oil for 85 percent of our home heat and have the second highest rate of food insecurity in the nation...Low-income families are already going to be making tough choices this winter between paying for heat and food," Pingree said to the President.

Pingree also worked with Kevin Concannon, the Undersecretary of Agriculture responsible for the program that distributes SNAP benefits. Concannon was the former Commissioner of Health and Human Services in Maine.