New York – Luis Dávila Pernas, director of the Office of the Puerto Rico Affairs Administration in Washington DC (PRFAA), assured El Diario that the efforts being made on the island for a potential transition from the PAN (Nutrition Assistance Program) ) to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will not be derailed despite the imminent change of government following the November general elections on the island.
“I believe that she (the resident commissioner) has done an excellent job within the dynamics in the House (of federal Representatives). She has had a good relationship with (Glenn) Thompson, who is the chairman of the (House Agriculture) committee; she took him to Puerto Rico. I was meeting with her at that public event; We even visited a supermarket where Thompson himself could see the high cost of food, the fact that there was food from the state of Pennsylvania (which he represents)… In that sense, (the commissioner) has done the job,” Dávila Pernas considered. in an interview with this newspaper about the efforts made by the candidate for governor of Puerto Rico, Jenniffer González regarding the issue of food assistance and an eventual change to SNAP.
“But (González) has not gotten the votes (to advance with the transition in the Chamber) which was what was being sought,” El Diario stated.
“He achieved an increase of $50 million in the PAN. In the Senate, they are not talking about an increase in the PAN (the Republican minority),” replied the director of PRFAA.
“With all that, Thompson said he welcomes Puerto Rico’s transition. However, he understands that at this moment what he can give way within the parameters of the Agricultural Law that he was able to approve in the House could not include that (the transition), but it did include an increase to the PAN base,” continuous.
“Aren’t the processes for a transition to SNAP derailed in the midst of a change of government?” this newspaper inquired.
“It is not derailed at all, because it is a priority for us, a priority for the Democratic Party. Among Republicans, Thompson has said he supports her personal vision; so if it is postponed for any longer, there is an opportunity for us to continue to progress and advance issues of that transition, and that is going to happen. I have no doubt that PR will access that SNAP program, it is a matter of time,” she assured.
“Suppose the commissioner wins these general elections, do you actually believe that she is going to follow the policies established by the previous government of the Pierluisi administration?” this newspaper insisted.
Dávila Pernas responded: “Of course. In fact, the bill that was introduced in the House is hers. The one presented in the Senate is a copy of the one she presented. So, certainly, if it was a priority for her as resident commissioner, it will be a priority for her as governor. I have no doubt of that”.
The interviewee refers to HR253 and S. 949, sister projects that seek to facilitate the transition. The Senate version was introduced by New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.
The impact of the primaries in Puerto Rico
In the primaries on June 2, the resident commissioner prevailed against Pedro Pierluisi in the gubernatorial candidacy for the New Progressive Party (PNP); while in the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) race, the current president of the party, Jesús Manuel Ortiz, beat his rival, the senator and former Secretary of the Treasury Juan Zaragoza. The Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) did not have primaries, and its candidate for governor is Juan Dalmau. Dalmau is also the candidate for governor supported by the Citizen Victory Movement (MVC), as part of an alliance ahead of the November 5 elections.
Regardless of who wins the elections that day, the territory will once again undergo a governmental reorganization and, therefore, positions and policies.
The issue of SNAP and parity of funds for the island has been an essential piece of the Pierluisi Administration’s campaign inside and outside Puerto Rico.
Although Pierluisi and González have points in common regarding the issue, each took their own path, prior to the primaries, to advance the discussion in the federal capital and highlight the progress made.
In the case of the PPD members, they have not been very vocal on the issue; nor those of the PIP and MVC.
One of the achievements that González attributed to himself was an additional allocation of $50 million for the PAN.
Last May, the Agriculture Committee of the House of Representatives, with a Republican majority, approved its project to reauthorize the Agricultural Bill (Farm Bill) to allocate an additional $50 million annually for that program in Puerto Rico. However, the version of the committee led by Thompson excluded the transition from PAN to SNAP.
Through the Farm Bill, an omnibus law that is supposed to be reauthorized by Congress every five years, the financing of food assistance programs such as PAN and SNAP is determined.
The $50 million annually for the PAN approved in the House Agriculture Committee
Regarding this, Dávila Pernas acknowledged that, although the part of the proposal to allocate $50 million annually to SNAP is positive, at the same time it implies cuts in other areas.
“The problem is that the Republican proposal also cuts the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which in the case of Puerto Rico represents $700 million (less). A study recently came out from the Center on Policy and Budget Priorities (CBPP) that indicates that there could even be a loss of funds when one adds the increase and subtracts what is being cut on the other hand, since there could be a negative balance. However, corrections have been made. The adjustments for inflation that had been made since 2003 had not been included, and that was included…and my understanding is that whatever is approved is not going to be negative for PR in terms of the budget, it has to be something that increases. , argued the interviewee.
Specifically, CBPP estimated that the way the economic food plan is calculated under the Republican proposal would imply $700 million less for the island in the next decade.
One of the debates brought up by Thompson was that Puerto Rico was supposedly not ready to impose the employment requirement to enter SNAP. In response to this point, Dávila Pernas pointed out that beyond what the local government can advance, there are some processes that require the authorization of the federal Congress.
“Congress has to approve. The PR and federal governments cannot transform, for example, the necessary IT processes that cost hundreds of millions of dollars in terms of eligibility, the administration of funds; Both governments cannot make that investment without it being authorized or financed by Congress. In other words, what has been done has been advanced and it continues to be advanced,” he explained.
The “Cradle of Talents” program of the Puerto Rico Department of Family
The Department of the Family through the Administration of Socioeconomic Development of the Family (Adsef) leads the voluntary program “Cradle of Talents” for a potential transition to SNAP.
The goal of the program is for the greatest number of PAN beneficiaries to complete 20 hours per week of work, study or volunteer services in a nonprofit organization to receive food assistance funds.
The Department had proposed to incorporate the majority of beneficiaries into the pilot program this month.
The total number of PAN recipients in Puerto Rico is estimated at 1,245,499.
Dávila Pernas said that the efforts aimed at ensuring that, by next year, 100,000 people enter the program.
“All regions in Puerto Rico are already participating in the voluntary program. However, there are already thousands of people who have entered the program and are working thanks to that program. The important thing here is to encourage people to be able to work without fear of losing the benefit, and that is part of what we want to achieve with SNAP, because SNAP allows the income limits that are extremely low in Puerto Rico to be doubled so that the “People can earn double what they earn today without losing that benefit,” he said.
What is expected to happen in the Senate before the August recess?
In the Senate, Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan, included a provision in The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024 in May for the transition.
In the opinion of the official, the above is a positive sign for Puerto Rico and the sectors that advocate for inclusion.
“The reality is that in the Senate the Agriculture Committee is controlled by Democrats, and this has to go through the Agriculture Committee. The president of that committee has emphasized that it is a priority for them to include this transition for Puerto Rico. The majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has also committed to Puerto Ricans that the time has come to achieve this transition, so I am extremely positive that, once the project is presented and passes through the commission, it will be approved with that provision for Puerto Rico,” highlighted Dávila Pernas.
The NPP anticipates that, in light of the August legislative recess, the Senate committee will take some action on its version of the Farm Bill.
“In the House, only the committee has voted; It has not yet reached the plenary session. The full House has not voted, because the Republican leadership reportedly does not even have the minimum number of votes required to approve the legislation, and that is why it has remained in committee. In the Senate, I think it will be different. I think it will be presented to that committee, approved, and then it will go to the plenary session for approval. There are many senators who are under pressure to approve this. But the reality is that they have until September 30 to approve it, and being an election year; There is a recess throughout the month of August, since practically all that remains is a couple of weeks…we cannot rule out the fact that perhaps they will postpone it or extend the Agricultural Law for another year and then they will attend to it next year ”, glimpsed the incoming president of the Democratic Party on the island.
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Estimate
One of the key processes in this discussion, as mentioned by Dávila Pernas, is the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) evaluation of the financial impact of the change to SNAP.
“The cost or impact of the measure must be determined by CBO, that is something that is always asked, and well, that is going to be part of that negotiation. The language presented by the chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee includes a 10-year transition. We understand that it can be done in much less time; In fact, we want it to happen in less time so that residents of Puerto Rico do not have to wait so long. However, that too, the fact that it is a longer transition, helps to reduce the economic impact of the measure, and that then, within a negotiation of a Farm Bill budgeted for 10 years, that can then be included disposition”, considered the director of PRFAA.
Regarding the 10-year estimate, he highlighted that the calculation involves not only the processes on the island to adapt to the transition, but also those that must be carried out by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“The report published by the federal Department of Agriculture in which it supports the transition speaks of a 10-year transition, because it is not only Puerto Rico that has to transition, it is also Agriculture that has to invest money in resources, reform its systems, employees, etc. ., to then be able to administer the program in the same way as it is administered with other states. This transition is dual, it occurs with the government of Puerto Rico and the federal one,” he noted.
Keep reading:
Kirsten Gillibrand seeks to convince Republicans that the transition to SNAP in Puerto Rico be included in the final version of the “Farm Bill”
SNAP in Puerto Rico: USDA explains what a transition to the food stamp program on the island would entail
Interview: Department of Family in Puerto Rico claims to be ready for transition to SNAP despite the “Farm Bill” blockade in Congress
Food sovereignty in Puerto Rico: the most recent battle of activists in Congress in the midst of the discussion over SNAP
CBPP on SNAP in Puerto Rico: transition is key on the path to combating poverty and food insecurity
16 legislators of Puerto Rican origin in NY send a letter to Congress to include Puerto Rico in SNAP through the “Farm Bill”