Shapiro’s administration spars with Pa. Republican Thompson on SNAP cuts
The Shapiro administration accused Thompson of misstating "key facts."
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration on Wednesday accused congressional Republicans of “fearmongering tactics“ and criticized Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson for mischaracterizing how the state runs its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
In the letter, Val Arkoosh, secretary of the state Department of Human Services, said Thompson, the Pennsylvania Republican who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, “misstated key facts” in a letter to the Trump administration about SNAP, which helps 2 million Pennsylvanians buy milk, produce and other essential groceries.
And Arkoosh blamed Thompson for cutting SNAP benefits to Pennsylvanians by voting for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
At issue was a detail about a quality-control measure that determines the percentage of over-and-underpayments to SNAP recipients called the error rate.
Traditionally, the federal government has paid 100% of SNAP benefits. But under the law signed by Trump, states with error rates above 6% will be penalized by having to cover a portion of those benefits.
Only eight states had rates lower than that amount in 2024, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute.
The loss of federal support has significant implications for the commonwealth, according to Shapiro, who said in May, “I really need you to hear me on this. We will not backfill the cuts that come from the federal government.
“We don’t have the ability to make up the dollars that they’re taking away from Pennsylvania.”
Arkoosh disputed Thompson’s statement that Pennsylvania’s SNAP error rate is 11%. It’s actually slightly lower — 10.76%, below the national average of 10.93%.
“In fact,” Arkoosh wrote, “in last year, Pennsylvania was one of the most improved states in the country, reducing our error rate by an amount greater than 45 other states and territories.”
In a statement Wednesday, Thompson’s chief of staff Matthew Brennan equated Pennsylvania’s error rate to a “scandal” of misspending taxpayer funds. He said that “Secretary Arkoosh ignored the fact that $450 million was incorrectly paid [by the state] last year alone.” That figure was a combination of over-payments and under-payments made by the commonwealth, according to a letter Thompson wrote to Shapiro last month.
Brennan added, “Congressman Thompson is rightfully concerned about the integrity of the program.”
Shapiro’s spokesperson Manuel Bonder accused Thompson of trying to mislead on the issue after taking the “unconscionable vote to strip food benefits away from 140,000 Pennsylvanians — including nearly 7,000 people in his own district.”