Copyright Bangor Daily News
U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner is calling on the state to tap its rainy-day fund to cover a shortfall in federal food benefits. That comes as recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also popularly referred to as food stamps, as its predecessor program was known, have faced uncertainty over how they will keep their cupboards stocked as the U.S. government shutdown drags into its sixth week. “As SNAP benefits dry up and over 170,000 Mainers go hungry, Maine’s rainy day fund stands at $1.03 billion, the legal maximum for the fund. I am calling on Gov. Mills to convene the legislature and utilize the rainy day fund to extend SNAP benefits until the end of the year. No Mainer should go hungry,” the Democrat said in a Thursday statement. Ben Goodman, a spokesperson for Janet Mills, said on Thursday that the governor is “considering all options to help Maine families in the wake of Washington’s dysfunction.” He pointed to a $1.25 million contribution to local food assistance programs, largely from the governor’s contingency account, a letter from Mills and 19 other governors urging Trump to release SNAP contingency funds for benefits in November. “The governor continues to strongly urge Republicans who control the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate, and the presidency to solve this problem today by extending the health care tax credits and ending the shutdown,” Goodman said. In an online exchange with Platner, House Speaker Ryan Fecteau noted that the Legislature would be unable to make funds immediately available to SNAP recipients without at least 24 House Republicans voting with majority Democrats. Otherwise, any legislation would take effect only after 90 days. Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture warned Maine and other states that benefits won’t be paid out under the program beginning Nov. 1, saying that Congress has failed to provide appropriations to keep it and other programs running. This year about 170,000 Mainers received the benefit every month, including more than 59,000 children and more than 40,000 older adults. More than a third of recipients have a disability. Nearly 75% of households that receive the benefits have at least one working adult. In four Maine counties — Androscoggin, Aroostook, Piscataquis, Somerset and Washington — about a fifth of their residents rely on the anti-hunger program. The average monthly household benefit is $296. Mills is talking with state lawmakers about alternatives to help Mainers who rely on SNAP to keep their cupboards stocked. Last week, she released about $1 million from a contingency fund to support Good Shepherd Food Bank, Maine’s Area Agencies on Aging and other anti-hunger programs in anticipation of federal food benefits being cut off Nov. 1. The John T. Gorman Foundation is contributing $250,000 to that effort. A coalition of state attorneys general, including Maine’s Aaron Frey, sued the Trump administration over the looming funding lapse, saying it has billions across two separate funds to keep SNAP afloat and contended that it is legally required to keep the entitlement program funded regardless of the shutdown. Federal judges have ruled that the Trump administration must maintain funding for the anti-hunger program. The administration initially said it would fund just 50% of the benefits for November, but on Wednesday night, it upped that to 65%, according to Politico. Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer from Sullivan who has support from unions and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, is vying with Mills and former End Citizens United Vice President Jordan Wood for the Democratic nomination to take on Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins next November. His campaign has been beset with controversy in recent weeks over unearthed inflammatory internet posts and a chest tattoo depicting a skull superimposed over crossbones, similar to the Totenkopf symbol adopted by the Nazi SS during World War II. Platner denies knowing that his tattoo was a Nazi symbol. He has said he got the tattoo in 2007 while deployed abroad with the U.S. Marines. While on leave, Platner and other Marines went to Croatia, where they got “very inebriated” and decided to get tattoos. He said that they all picked “terrifying” designs off the wall. He has since gotten it covered. At the same time, his campaign has seen a number of high-level departures, including his national financial director, treasurer, campaign manager and political director. Despite the barrage of negative headlines, Platner has vowed to stay in the race.
