(WHTM) — Nutrition for children, home health care for seniors, and everything in between are overseen by the Department of Human Services, which makes up the largest part of the state budget. Today, lawmakers questioned it in budget hearings.
The budget request from the Governor's Office is roughly $21.1 billion, with a $2 billion increase for Human Services.
Human Services Secretary Val Arkoosh said the feds send $367 million a month to the Keystone State for SNAP benefits, which are increasingly targeted by thieves.
"This is money going to our most vulnerable families and children and older adults, people who really need this benefit to put food on their table, so it is disgusting," said Secretary Arkoosh during an appropriations hearing on Tuesday.
One scammer stole benefits from 17 people in Central Pennsylvania and made bulk purchases of Red Bull and candy. Before December, the feds would make victims whole, but no more.
"(People) are showing up at our offices hungry," said Arkoosh. "They can't feed their kids, and they are understandably wildly upset."
State Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa (R-Allegheny) wants more secure benefit cards and odd purchases flagged.
"We definitely don't want to stop anybody from going out and buying a bag of M&Ms," said Rep. Krupa. "But, there needs to be a deeper dive into balancing food choice with better with the nutritional goals of the program."
Pennsylvania gets a lot of money from Washington, which could dry up as President Donald Trump looks for inefficiencies.
"If someone in the federal government turns off a system, there is very little that we can do about it," said Arkoosh.
There is very little that budget crafters can count on. They do have hope and their fingers crossed.
"It's really fraught right now," said Rep. Emily Kinkhead (D-Allegheny). "I think that's the case with pretty much every state, whether it's red or blue or purple. We are not really sure how things are going to go."
Even ardent Trump supporters concede a trickle-down of uncertainty.
"If there's one thing that you could criticize, you know, he went in with, what's he saying? 'A chainsaw, not a scalpel,'" said Krupa. "In our lifetimes, we've not seen anybody else take such a proactive role in cutting out that waste, fraud, and abuse."