Iowa House lawmakers have advanced a proposal that aims to restrict who qualifies for food assistance. 

House File 3 was introduced to add a new requirement which would make Iowans applying for public assistance benefits subject to an asset test from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services before being enrolled into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Iowa Senator for District 14 Sarah Trone-Garriott expects this bill to come to the senate and says that an asset test would be harmful to many low-income Iowans. 

“They’re saying they would add additional hurdles. So if you own two cars, and you live in a rural community, both you and your spouse have to get to work, have to get kids to school, take care of everything in your life. You would be excluded from qualifying from that food assistance. If you have two cars. If you have a savings account for your child to go to college, that money would count against you and you wouldn’t qualify. So there are some really restrictive things in here.”

Trone-Garriott says that the Republican-backed bill’s asset test would require the state to get a new system to make more eligibility checks and it would also need additional workers. 

“In other states that have implemented the similar asset test and really restricted limitations is an expensive system so many states that have implemented it wasted a bunch of taxpayer money and then they ended it.”

House Speaker Pat Grassley is in favor of this piece of legislation and says that state funds going towards entitlement programs like SNAP are putting pressure on the state’s budget and he wants to reduce cost.