Republican Oregon Rep. Duane Youncker has formally demanded that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) review the tribal-only Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program after Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek directed $1 million in emergency aid.
In response to the former government malfunction and him effect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Kotek directed $1 million will be provided for emergency food assistance to nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon, as well as $5 million for the Oregon Food Bank network. However, in letter Sent to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Juncker raised questions about the use of taxpayer dollars. (RELATED: Shutdown Threatens SNAP Benefits, But Puts Billions Lost to Fraud and Abuse at Risk)
“Oregonians deserve full transparency when it comes to how federal Social Security dollars are used,” Younker said. “When a million dollars in TANF funds are distributed quickly and outside the normal processes, the public has a right to understand what the decision is based on and whether it complies with federal law.”
In Oregon, about 757,000 people currently receive SNAP benefits, with about 8,600 tribal members on TANF, according to the state Department of Human Services (ODHS). If $1 million were allocated to the state's tribes, it is estimated that each tribal member would receive approximately $117. By comparison, $5 million allocated to Oregon's 757,000 residents would roughly amount to less than $7 per resident.
“My request to federal agencies is simple: determine whether these ancestral appropriations comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, or Native American status, and ensure that Oregon administers its SNAP and TANF programs fairly, for their intended purposes, and in full compliance with federal law,” Juncker continued. “The integrity of our social safety net programs depends on it.”
Supplies brought in by members of an armed anti-government militia are visible at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters building. (Photo by Rob KERR/AFP via Getty Images)
Kotek oversaw emergency relief in October due to the Trump Administration's alleged “failure to maintain SNAP benefits during the federal shutdown, creating instability for families and communities that rely on this critical assistance to buy food.” The ODHS Office of Resilience and Emergency Management has been directed to send out grant agreements to each of the nine tribal emergency managers and human services directors no later than Nov. 7, the governor said.
In Younker's email, the spokesperson said he asked ODHS Acting Deputy Director Dana Hittle about the amounts issued and was later sent a follow-up email confirming that ODHS had paid out all regular November SNAP benefits. According to Younker, ODHS allegedly confirmed that the additional $1 million was “not based on any per capita proportional formula or SNAP” but was instead obtained through “non-standard tribal agreements that bypassed typical consultation requirements,” according to Younker.
Younker's request came just after Minnesota Department of Human Services officials accused Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on responsibility for depleting state social service programs after he allegedly ignored whistleblower claims that $1 billion in funds were diverted through fraudulent transactions.
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