Nebraska bill seeks to restore SNAP benefits for refugees and immigrants
More than 100 immigrant and refugee families across Nebraska are trying to get by without SNAP benefits they once qualified for, and this week they are asking the Unicameral for help restoring them
LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - More than 100 immigrant and refugee families across Nebraska are trying to get by without SNAP benefits they once qualified for, and this week they are asking the Unicameral for help restoring them.
President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” removed benefits from refugees and asylum seekers who are in the U.S. legally.
LB 843, introduced by State Sen. Victor Rountree of Bellevue, would require Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services to request a waiver from the USDA to restore those benefits.
Refugees and immigrants said the assistance is essential.
“We just came here with the hope of wanting to work really hard. We value family, we value personal responsibility. But it’s just a little help that we need, and I hope we can continue to get that,” Welcome Home director Paw Bway Htoo said.
Others are skeptical of how much help the bill could provide.
SNAP benefits in Nebraska are 100% federally funded, and LB 843 does not include any new state spending for those benefits.
If passed, the decision to restore benefits would still fall to the federal government.