food assistance

Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Searcy) describes a bill he sponsors, Senate Bill 306, that would raise the asset limit for federal nutrition assistance in Arkansas on the Senate floor March 16, 2023. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)

Arkansas Senate approves proposal to increase food stamp asset limit

BY: - March 16, 2023

A proposed increase of Arkansas’ asset ceiling for federal nutrition assistance passed the Senate on Thursday with bipartisan support. Senate Bill 306 initially would have raised the resource limit to $12,500 for Arkansans to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly called food stamps. The bill was amended to lower the proposal to […]

U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-Arkansas) at a Feb. 16, 2023, meeting of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. (Photo courtesy of Boozman press office)

U.S. Senate panel spars over elevated food assistance spending in upcoming farm bill

BY: - February 17, 2023

WASHINGTON – Members of the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee split along party lines Thursday as they tussled over financial accountability in farm bill nutrition programs.  The main point of contention was the Department of Agriculture’s 2021 changes to the Thrifty Food Plan, one of four food plans the USDA develops to estimate […]

DHS finalizes end to Trump-era ‘public charge’ rule for immigrants

BY: - September 8, 2022

The Biden administration finalized a new public charge rule on Thursday that would eliminate Trump-era policies that penalized low-income immigrants seeking health benefits and other services. The new rule from the Department of Homeland Security will roll back the types of assistance immigration officers can consider when evaluating immigrants for a green card and deciding […]