LiveOn NY Opposes Another Cut to SNAP

LIVEON NY PUBLIC COMMENT OPPOSING RECENT SNAP PROPOSAL, WHICH WOULD END OR DECREASE BENEFITS FOR MILLIONS OF SENIORS

The following comments were submitted to The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) on Monday, December 2, 2019. The FNS is housed within the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is the federal agency responsible for administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This proposed rule on Standardization of State Heating and Cooling Standard Utility Allowance would cut nearly $4.5 billion in benefits over five years, causing 19 percent of SNAP households to get lower SNAP monthly benefits, and would disproportionately impact older adults and individuals with disabilities.

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LiveOn NY respectfully expresses our strong opposition to the proposed rule on the Standardization of State Heating and Cooling Standard Utility Allowances (SUA). LiveOn NY is a nonprofit membership organization representing 100 community-based organizations serving older adults in New York City. We also provide direct assistance to older New Yorkers through our Benefits Outreach Program, through which our team screens individuals for eligibility and assists through the entirety of the application process.

Currently, SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective anti-poverty programs, helping more than 38 million people in the United States meet their basic nutritional needs every month. However, if this proposal passes, this would mean a reduction of $4.5 billion over 5 years in benefits. Seniors and the disabled will particularly bear the brunt of this proposal, especially those who are low income and reside in communities of color. This proposal to standardize SUA will have dire consequences for many of our clients, particularly homeowners, a population that skews older, and tenants who pay utilities separate from their mortgage or rent. It is estimated that an overall 19 percent of current recipients would see their monthly SNAP benefits decrease, making it harder to afford sustenance. For some of our clients in particular, their SNAP benefits would diminish considerably—as much as $40 to $50 per month on average. Even worse, some of our clients would no longer be eligible to receive SNAP at all. 

One of LiveOn NY’s current clients receives the minimum SNAP amount of $16 per month even with the highest SUA level. Prior to the passing of his wife, he was receiving $194; but this amount was lowered to $16 after the rent reduction he received from his SCRIE redetermination. Our client is a diabetic who cannot afford the proper dosage of his medication because of the high out of pocket cost. To make his medication last longer, he splits his pills and uses his daughter’s extra blood glucose test strips. If this Standardization of State Heating and Cooling Standard Utility Allowances (SUA) passes, our client would be at risk of no longer receiving SNAP benefits. The struggles faced by our client is just one illustration of a problem plaguing countless older adults, who find themselves having to choose between food, medicine, and housing.

The SUA calculations are also tied to the eligibility for the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), which helps defray the cost of heating in the winter. Standardizing SUA could have the unintended effect of making it even more difficult for older adults to pay their utility bills, because these same seniors who become ineligible for SNAP would also become ineligible for HEAP. 

“It is impossible to say that older adults in our nation have the opportunity to live with dignity and respect when so many would be at risk of going hungry due to this proposed rule.”

Moreover, the proposal to cut SUA would only put even more older adults at risk of food insecurity, which could have severe repercussions to their health, such as contributing to an increased risk of falls, which can lead to significant health care complications and costs. In the case of our client mentioned above, the stress and the lack of funds for medication could aggravate pre-existing chronic conditions, and therefore be responsible for worsening health outcomes. These cuts would also negatively affect the bottom line of local businesses and farmers from whom SNAP recipients purchase their fresh foods. Therefore, this proposal will not only be economically detrimental to older adults, but for the community at large.

At LiveOn NY, we believe that older adults should have the opportunity to age in place with dignity and respect. Every city and town in America should allow for older adults to thrive given all that they have contributed and continue to contribute to their communities. The SNAP program is a core safety net that ensures that. It is impossible to say that older adults in our nation have the opportunity to live with dignity and respect when so many would be at risk of going hungry due to this proposed rule.

As a result of our forty years of experience working with older New Yorkers, we believe that this proposal will harm, instead of help, older Americans. We urge the Federal government to withdraw this proposal in its entirety. We remain resolved in our continued efforts to advocate for policies that will safeguard against hunger, ensure housing, promote health and address economic inequality; and we are hopeful that a similar resolve will compel the Federal government to conclude that this proposal is not worth further pursuing.

LiveOn NY Speaks at Age Discrimination Rally and Public Hearing

On October 8th, LiveOn NY joined Council Member Chin and other aging advocates for a rally and public hearing on age discrimination in the workforce. LiveOn NY’s Director of Public Policy, Katelyn Andrews, spoke at the rally (pictured left) on the steps of City Hall. Jenna Gladfelter, Public Policy Associate, testified at the joint hearing held by City Council’s Committee on Aging and Committee on Civil and Human Rights.

Watch the hearing here, and listen to the timely testimony of the reporters of NY1 who launched an age- and gender-discrimination lawsuit against their employer, as well as the inspired testimony of fellow aging advocates. LiveOn NY testifies at the 2:29:10 minute mark in this nearly 3 hour hearing. Read our full, written testimony, below:

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New York City Council
Joint Hearing
Committee on Aging, Chair, Council Member Margaret Chin
Committee on Civil and Human Rights, Chair, Council Member Eugene
October 8th, 2019
Oversight – Age Discrimination in the Workforce

Thank you, Chairs Chin and Eugene, and the Committees, for the opportunity to testify on age discrimination in the workplace. LiveOn NY would also like to thank Council Member Chin and Council Member Ayala for shining a light on this issue that affects so many, and if left unaddressed, will undoubtedly affect many more.

It is critical that we view aging as the normative life process that it is. In other words: we are all aging. We find ourselves in an exciting time in which the future of aging itself is dynamic and evolving. Perhaps like never before, there is no “one size fits all” for the aging process. While previous generations may have lived by a more consistent set of milestones, today we all experience life and aging differently, and therefore deserve the opportunity to thrive in accordance with our own drive, desires, limitations, and values, regardless of age. For some, this may mean an early and long-awaited retirement; for others, a second act in an unexplored career path; for most, however, it means the continued economic pressures of an often unequal society.

This economic reality means that many older adults simply cannot afford the fiscal implications of a frequently age-biased, and at times, discriminatory society and workplace. Even beyond economic pressures, older adults should not be shunted the opportunity to fulfill the innate desire to have utility, be productive, and contribute. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, by the year 2024, workers 55 or older will represent 25% of the workforce. By contrast, in 1994, those 55 and older represented just 11%. And yet, while today many people are working longer, age discrimination – particularly in the workforce – is still very real. It is ingrained in stereotypes of how older adults live, behave, and work, which can have a seriously damaging effect on their job opportunities and overall well-being.

“Many older adults simply cannot afford the fiscal implications of a frequently age-biased, and at times, discriminatory society and workplace.”

While age discrimination is highly unreported, the most common cases that are filed involve an individual not being hired due to age, followed closely by being passed over for promotions. These occurrences have a clear fiscal impact on the individual, and may be more common than has been enumerated given the aforementioned lack of reporting. In fact, in a 2017 study by AARP, more than 6 in 10 workers age 45 and older say they have seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace. Of those, 91% say that it is a common occurrence.

For already marginalized populations, such as women, immigrants, or minority communities, these age-related injustices only serve to exacerbate existing inequities. Inequities such as lost wages due to caregiving, persistent wage gap within communities of color, and lack of pension options for a multitude of workers, means that the financial margins that are so slim that the effects of age discrimination can be devastating.

It is in light of these injustices that LiveOn NY would like to express our strong support for all of the bills being discussed at today’s hearing. We applaud Council Members Chin and Ayala for introducing a legislative package aiming to change the narrative around the value of older adults and older workers.

We would also like to respectfully submit several recommendations in an effort to see this legislative package as strong as it can be:

First, as proposed in Intro 1694, we support Council Member Chin’s efforts for the City to have a team working to ensure that equity in employment opportunities exists for older New Yorkers. LiveOn would like to submit for consideration that this team be housed within the Office of Workforce Development as a Center for Older Workers, enabling employees to capitalize on existing resources.

Secondly, LiveOn NY looks forward to supporting the work of the task force proposed in Intro 1693, and we applaud Council Member Chin’s efforts to create such a body to convene on this key issue. LiveOn on encourages the Task Force to include a representative with legal expertise on age discrimination. We believe that having a legal expert who understands the ins and outs of this issue is integral given the status of age as a protected class according to the federal government. LiveOn NY looks forward to learning the findings of the task force, and believes its report could act as a blueprint to inform and embolden the team created through Intro 1694. We believe that, in concert, both bills have a significant opportunity to positively impact the lives of older New Yorkers.

To close, LiveOn NY would like to stress the importance of recognizing the value and contributions of older adults in all aspects of the public and private spheres, and to reframe the way we as a society view and treat the oldest among us. Even beyond the workplace, it is imperative that we recognize the value of older adults in society at large, as demonstrated through countless hours of volunteerism, local economic impact, caregiving responsibility, civic and community engagement, and more. In short: it is time that older adults are recognized for their strengths. LiveOn NY looks forward to continued conversations on how to make New York a better place to work and age. Thank you again for the opportunity to testify.

LiveOn NY Public Comment Opposing Proposal to Eliminate SNAP Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility

The following comments were submitted to The Food and Nutrition Service. The FNS is housed within the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is the federal agency responsible for administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

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LiveOn NY would like to respectfully express our strong opposition to the proposed rule to eliminate the broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE) provision in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). LiveOn NY is a nonprofit membership organization representing 100 community-based organizations serving older adults in New York City. We also provide direct assistance to older New Yorkers through our Benefits Outreach Program, in which our team screens individuals for eligibility and assists through the entirety of the application process.

Currently, SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective anti-poverty programs, helping more than 38 million people in the United States meet their basic nutritional needs every month. This dangerous proposal would cause immediate harm, taking food assistance away from 3 million people nationwide — nearly 660,000 of whom are seniors 60 years and older. By revoking a state’s right to ensure their SNAP program caters to its local communities, this proposed rule would also negatively impact those who were able to retain their SNAP benefits past the initial purge of benefits. Through the freedom to customize eligibility guidelines, a state is able to ease rules that would punish older adults for their modest savings, as well as increment the otherwise looming benefit cliff that affects Social Security recipients when receiving a Cost of Living Adjustment.

Through LiveOn NY’s benefits outreach work, we see the impact nutrition assistance programs have in the lives of older New Yorkers every day — many of whom are forced to choose between food, rent, and medication. In just one example of a typical case for our team, we met Ms. K, a 75 year-old widow, after losing her husband of over 40 years. She received approximately $2,100/month in Social Security benefits and from a small pension, and had modest savings of only $2,000. Ms. K owned her home in Queens where she and her husband brought up their children. Although her mortgage was paid off, she still had considerable housing-related expenses such as water, heat, and electricity. She also had property taxes and homeowners insurance to pay. Because of these expenses, coupled with her limited income, Ms. K found it extremely difficult to afford healthy food, and reported that there were times when she could only afford to eat two small meals a day.

LiveOn NY’s staff met Ms. K at the senior center she attends two to three times a week and talked to her about applying for SNAP. Initially, Ms. K was skeptical, believing she may be ineligible. However, because New York State employs Broad Based Categorical Eligibility, the guidelines allow adults over 60 years old or those who are disabled to have a higher income and a modest savings, improving Ms. K’s chances of eligibility. After walking Ms. K through the application process, she was approved for SNAP; and today, she is able to afford much-needed fresh fruits and vegetables as a result of this critical program.

“If this proposed change to BBCE were actualized, it would undercut the ability of seniors — namely low-income seniors, immigrants, and communities of color — to afford food.”

Ms. K’s situation is not unique; our team assists older New Yorkers like her every day. If this proposed change to BBCE were actualized, it would undercut the ability of seniors — namely low-income seniors, immigrants, and communities of color — to afford food. Consequently, many individuals like Ms. K would find themselves at a greater risk of hunger, inevitably posing a threat to their health and housing stability. Additionally, instead of fostering overall wellbeing, removing the BBCE system actively discourages low-income individuals from taking a job with better pay and accumulating savings for emergency expenses. 

At LiveOn NY, we uphold that we all have the ability to continue to thrive, contribute, and find meaning in our later years, especially when afforded the basic tools necessary to do so. For many older adults, the SNAP program is one of these tools — a tool that we encourage the Federal government to continue to support.

As a result of our forty years of experience working with older New Yorkers, we believe that this proposal is the antithesis of what is needed to ensure that the United States is a great place to age, and we encourage the Federal government to withdraw this proposal in its entirety. It is critical that each state retains the right to determine eligibility guidelines for this program as it has such a profound impact on our local communities, including the economic viability of the very shops that accept SNAP. Finally, we remain resolved in our continued efforts to advocate for policies that will safeguard against hunger, ensure housing, promote health and address economic inequality; and we are hopeful that a similar resolve will compel the Federal government to conclude that this proposal is not worth further pursuing.

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