A bipartisan group of 14 senators is backing new legislation to change the rules for federal nutrition assistance so that more low-income troops and their families qualify.
Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a former Army helicopter pilot, told CQ Roll Call she is filing the bill today to alter the rules governing the Agriculture Department’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Her bill would ensure that a servicemember’s housing allowance, a stipend to cover most of the cost of an off-base residence, no longer is included in that person’s income.
The bill’s cosponsors include Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski and a dozen Democrats, including several senior members of the Armed Services and Appropriations panels.
