Judges order the Trump administration to use contingency funds for SNAP payments during gov't shutdown

Connecticut law fights to control invasive green crabs in Long Island Sound

'How much more can we take?' United Illuminating to raise electric rates effective Nov. 1st.

Connecticut sues to keep SNAP benefits funded

'Horrifying' ICE arrest caught on camera in Stamford

CT sending $3 million to food banks as SNAP benefits end this weekend

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News 12 Staff

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I'm Mark Sudall. Welcome back to Power and Politics. I'm joined by Andrea Barton Reeves. She's the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Social Services. Welcome. Thank you, thank you for having me this morning. Well, we certainly have a lot to talk about now as of the taping of this segment on Friday, there was talk of a possible ruling on SNAP benefits from a judge, but as of right now, the benefits are running out this weekend because of the government shutdown. This is impacting thousands of needy families right here in Connecticut. Yes, that's right. It impacts over 300,000 needy families in Connecticut. We pay on average about $72 million a month in SAP benefits to about 363,000 families. So for these families to not have access to SNAP benefits, it's really devastating. We're doing the best that we can and we can talk a little bit about that. We've uh partnered with Food Share, you know, was an essential partner, particularly during the pandemic. In order to be able to shore food pantries and have enough resources, at least in the short term, for the many, many people who will be experiencing food insecurity or outright hunger while we await our federal partners to come to agreements so that SNAPP can be funded again, which is really our optimal hope that that's what will happen. Now if benefits are going to be made available, how long will that take and might they be full or partial benefits? Those are both really great questions. We don't have a sense of how long it takes because the individuals at the federal level who are responsible for administering SNAPP would be on furlough. So we would have to see how long it would take for them to ramp up and for services to be made available again, we're hoping that could be done as quickly as possible. And with respect to the benefits, if it could happen quickly, we would be able to try to to provide as much of the month of November as we could. But depending on when the benefits are turned back on, it could in fact be a partial benefit. And while that's not ideal, it it really is much better than no benefit at all. So we're really hoping for the best outcome, which is that there's resolution as quickly as possible, and we can get the fullest amount of benefit to all of our participants as soon as we can. Now, as you know, Bridgeport has one of the highest percentages of people using SNAP benefits in the state. Now some fear that the Trump administration will cut off the EBT cards so that the states could not fill up the cards. Is that something you're also hearing? No, that was something that we heard very early on that the federal government would in fact restrict access to the vendor network, but that is not something that has actually come to fruition, and we're very glad for that because those that has still have benefits on their cards can continue to use them. You can use it through today, you can use those remaining benefits through the month of November. So we're we're very glad that that never came to pass because that would be even more devastating for people to have access to the benefit, but not be able to use it really anywhere at any vendor that that takes SAP and we have thousands of them throughout the state of Connecticut. Now, this whole thing seems odd because the food program has remained in place for the past two decades during multiple government shutdowns. It's now really become both parties kind of blaming each other here. Yes, that has happened and and I think most Americans are watching the partisanship with a great degree of dismay. Really our focus should be, and I, and I hope that the both parties can agree on this. It should really be on serving the American people, particularly those that are vulnerable. There are, we believe, lots of misconceptions about who is on Snap, but let's just be clear, we have over 120,000 children who are on SAP benefits. We have 90,000 people who are elderly and disabled who are on Snap just in this state alone. We are not talking about people who are. Are uh unworthy, should we say of receiving a staff benefit. This is an essential benefit for people who aren't able to work for themselves or are working and just don't make enough money to be able to afford groceries, which we all know are very expensive and those prices keep rising across the country. So we really are hoping that partisanship can be set aside and that a mutual agreement can be reached so very quickly so that people don't have to worry about how they're going to feed their families. Now, is the shutdown creating any delays in coverage of health benefits? No, there aren't any delays with respect to health benefits, and I can only speak to Medicaid because that's the program that we administer in the Department of Social Services. We receive thousands and thousands of applications for both Medicaid and SNAPP. Uh, it does take us a while to move through those, but from the federal perspective, there has been no impact on, on medical benefits or health benefits at all. I know that there's been a lot of talk about, and rightfully so, the sun setting up some subsidies for those that are on what's known as Obamacare and the healthcare exchange, and that I know many Americans and many Connecticut residents have been reading about that we also hope will come to some sort of resolution at the federal level as well. Now if people in need of social services benefits don't get the help they need, are we going to see more homelessness? What is the alternative here? Well, unfortunately, there is a ripple effect. When we see that people don't have their basic needs met, we do often see people that fall into greater degrees of desperation with respect to that need. We at the state really are trying to do our best to make sure that that is not the outcome that happens. We know that there has been more affordable housing that's been built across the state. We are trying to, as I said, temporarily right now, shore up our food distribution system. And really also trying to focus on the partnerships that we have with our community action agencies and with United Way 211, both of whom are really essential partners in making sure that people don't fall through the cracks. So if there really is a concern, it's important first of all to go to United Way to 21. One which can be called from a cell phone and for those of us who might even still have a landline, you can call there and you can also reach out to your local community action agency. All of this information can be found on our website, which is you can find that at uh DSS. DSS.c.gov. And about the 30 seconds we have left, uh, can folks, uh, help in any way, uh, food pantries, things like that? Yes, I'm so glad that you asked that. We're asking every neighbor to be as generous as they possibly can. If you have elder elderly people living next to you, please check on them and those that are disabled and not able to get out and generate, uh, I'm sorry, you should, uh, donate as generously as you can to your local food pantry. So thank you, thank you. Thank you.

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Immigrant rights activists are condemning what they call a brutal ICE arrest. It happened Monday afternoon around 1 o'clock in the Stanford Superior Court parking garage. News 12 Connecticut's Justin Devellus spoke to witnesses. In our country it is despicable to see this happen. Lizzie Eler is furious. Now I'm shaking. I was crying. She's one of the many people who witnessed the scene here on the first floor of the Stanford Superior Court parking garage. In seconds there are 5 cars surrounding this man and his wife in the car. They manhandling him, trying to get him out of the car. The video appears to show 4 officers, 3 of which are wearing FBI vests, apprehending a man on the ground as he cries out for help. Yeah I saw a real assault today in this parking garage. This poor man was on his face was smashed in the pavement, and they would not get off of him. Eler is with the group Stanford Norwalk United for Immigrants. She says the organization is seeing arrests like these on a regular basis. There's not much we can do except to document, but what we're seeing is horrifying. We're not being shown any warrants as far as we know. They don't have warrants. Nobody shows a badge, nothing. Stanford police responded to the scene, mainly to control the crowd that had built up. I just think the whole love beats hate thing, but silence rides sidecar every time with hate, and the silence is not OK in Stanford, I'm Justin Develi, News 12, Connecticut. Now ICE told News 12 Connecticut, quote, under President Trump and Secretary Nome, if you break the law, you will face the consequences. Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the US. A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to hear from the NBA about the recent gambling scandal. The FBI is now looking into allegations of insider information used in an alleged mafia-related betting scheme on NBA games and rigged. Underground poker games. Members of Congress wrote to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver last week 34 people were indicted in connection with two separate federal gambling investigations announced by the Eastern District of New York. Well, that's all our time. I'm Mark Suddall. Thanks for watching.

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Connecticut Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas and Andrea Barton Reeves, Connecticut's Social Services commissioner, join the show.

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Connecticut Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas and Andrea Barton Reeves, Connecticut's Social Services commissioner, join the show.

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