Governor Wolf Follows Through On Plan To Eliminate Asset Test To Qualify For Food Stamps

By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has announced that he's decided to end the asset test necessary to qualify for food stamps as of this coming Monday.

An asset test to qualify for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, was imposed by the previous administration. House Majority Leader Dave Reed, an Indiana County Republican, says it's one thing to question the threshold of the asset test, but…

"But certainly I think a lot of our members, including myself, believe, you know, if somebody's sitting on a hundred, two hundred, three hundred thousand dollars worth of assets, there's a real question out there whether they should be eligible for food stamps," Reed says.

Jeff Sheridan, a spokesman for the governor, disagrees.

"We decided to eliminate the asset test," Sheridan says, "and it's something that the governor said he had planned to do during the campaign, as well."

Governor Wolf says it disproportionately affected households with disabled and older residents.