TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Tallahassee Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum is pushing House Republicans to drop an idea that could take away food stamps for about 229,000 Floridians.
Gillum held a news conference Tuesday and then dropped off a petition at House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s office that asks lawmakers to maintain current food stamp eligibility rather than making it harder to receive assistance.
A House bill would limit food stamps to families that earn less than 130 percent of the federal poverty limit or $2,633 a month for a family of four. Families who earn twice the poverty limit are now eligible for food assistance.
Gillum told reporters it would be “inhumane” to remove the assistance. He noted that his family relied on food stamps when he grew up.
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