Republican Oregon state Rep. Dwayne Yunker formally requested that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) review the state’s tribal-only Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program after Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek directed $1 million in emergency assistance.
In response to the former government shutdown and its effect on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Kotek directed $1 million in emergency aid to nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon to help address food assistance, along with $5 million for the Oregon Food Bank network. However, in a letter sent to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Yunker raised questions about the use of taxpayer dollars.
“Oregonians deserve full transparency when it comes to how federal welfare dollars are being used,” Yunker stated. “When a million dollars in TANF funds is distributed rapidly and outside of normal processes, the public has the right to understand the basis for that decision and whether it complies with federal law.”
Oregon, according to the state’s Department of Human Services (ODHS), has an estimated 757,000 individuals currently on SNAP benefits, with an estimated 8,600 tribal members using TANF funds. With $1 million given to the tribes in the state, an estimated $117 would be going to each tribal member. In comparison, the $5 million given to the 757,000 Oregon residents’ would be roughly giving each resident under $7.
“My request to federal agencies is straightforward: determine whether these ancestry-targeted allocations comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act that prohibits discrimination based on race, ancestry, or Native American affiliation and ensure Oregon is administering its SNAP and TANF programs in a way that is fair, for their intended purpose, and in full accordance with federal law,” Yunker continued. “The integrity of our safety-net programs depends on it.”
Kotek directed the emergency aid in October due to the purported “refusal of the Trump Administration to maintain SNAP benefits during the federal shutdown is creating instability for families and communities that rely on this critical help to buy food.” According to the governor, the ODHS Office of Resilience and Emergency Management was directed to send grant agreements to each of the nine tribal emergency managers and social services directors no later than Nov. 7.
In Yunker’s letter, the representative said he asked ODHS Acting Deputy Director Dana Hittle about the amounts given and was later sent a follow-up email confirming ODHS paid all normal November SNAP benefits. The ODHS allegedly confirmed the additional $1 million was not “based on any per-capita or SNAP pro-rata formula,” but instead expedited through “nonstandard tribal agreements that bypassed typical consultation requirements,” according to Yunker.
Yunker’s request comes just after Minnesota Department of Human Services employees accused Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of being responsible for the state’s social services programs being drained after he allegedly ignored whistleblowers’ claims that $1 billion in funds were funneled through fraudulent operations.
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