The decline in food stamp benefits in Wisconsin has pushed lawmakers to address ways to help those affected by it.

Members of Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force said to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the decline is a result of the changes made to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or FoodShare. The changes in food stamp benefits affected more than 255,000 low income households in Wisconsin.

The allowance or deductions that people receive in order to pay for utilities affects the amount of food stamps they receive, Sherrie Tussler, executive director of Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force said. If people do not have to pay for utilities, like in public housing, they have fewer deductions and hence, fewer food stamp benefits, she said.

Lawmakers are looking into a bill to help those affected by the decline in food stamp benefits. Rep. David Bowen, D-Milwaukee, plans to introduce a bill that will reinstate the Heat and Eat Program in Wisconsin. The Heat and Eat Program helps increase the deduction available to people, thereby increasing their food stamp benefits and FoodShare, Bowen said.

“The effects of lower food stamp benefits have had a devastating effect on many people,” Bowen said.

He said the Heat and Eat Program will allocate $20 per person to help people meet eligibility requirements for higher food stamp benefits and FoodShare.

The bill will focus on transferring nearly $5.4 million worth of energy deductions through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Tussler said. Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force helped Bowen with the bill and supports it, she said.

Bowen said the bill would simply reallocate federal dollars instead of taking more tax dollars, generating $276 million worth of food stamps overall. He said 255,000 Wisconsin residents will qualify for increased food stamp benefits with this bill.

This money will eventually benefit the economy as well because it will be returned to grocery stores, farmers’ markets and other places where consumers can access food, Bowen said.

“It’s a win-win situation,” Bowen said.

Rachel Sheffield, policy analyst for the Institute for Family, Community and Opportunity of the Heritage Foundation, said the Heat and Eat Program is responsible for the cuts in food stamp benefits and FoodShare because it increases the federal funding available to states. She said 95 percent of funding for food stamps comes from the federal government, which means state governments pay very little for them.

In order to provide the $20 per person allocation that the Heat and Eat Program entails, states would have to receive more money from the federal government, Sheffield said.

“It is something that should be eliminated, because it is a loophole that can work the system to bring in more funding and increase the maximum amount that households can receive,” she said.

Sheffield said giving welfare assistance in the form of food stamps and FoodShare to only those who need it, such as the elderly and disabled, could help increase food stamp benefits.

Sheffield also said people who are able-bodied and can work should have a requirement to either be working and earning money or at least be looking for work; thereby, reducing their dependence on food stamp benefits.

The bill will be officially proposed in the near future, Bowen said.