Pentagon Seeks Program to Reduce Use of Food Stamps Among Enlisted

Moving to defuse an embarrassing campaign issue, the Pentagon Friday proposed a $31-million-a-year plan to reduce the number of U.S. troops eligible for federal food stamps.

Defense officials asked Congress to approve a “subsistence plan” that would give lower-paid enlisted troops electronic debit cards so they could obtain groceries while avoiding the stigma of taking part in a program for the poor. About 6,300 troops now receive the stamps, most of them low-ranking enlisted service members struggling to support large families on pay that starts at less than $1,200 a month.

GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush has sought to make the problem the centerpiece of his argument that eight years of the Clinton administration has left the armed forces overworked and underpaid. “This is not the way the nation should reward courage and idealism,” he said.

How the Proposed Program Would Work

The Pentagon’s proposed program would give troops a fixed benefit each month, depending on their rank and family size. The program would be administered on military bases, rather than through government offices elsewhere, to make it more convenient. Eligible service members would use their cards at commissaries, which sell groceries at a discount of about 25%.

In remote locations, where there are no commissaries, the troops would present their receipts so they could be reimbursed for grocery expenses up to a specified amount.

Vice President Al Gore, who has sought to distance himself from the problem, said in a statement that he strongly supports the Pentagon proposal. He said that he had brought the issue to President Clinton’s attention and “worked with the Pentagon to search for solutions.”

The plan was criticized by a spokesman for Bush, who argued that the troops need more pay rather than simply a different kind of subsidy.

“The plan does not address the fundamental issue: Members of our armed services are underpaid and deserve a raise,” said Ray Sullivan, a Bush spokesman. He said that Bush’s proposal for a $1-billion pay increase for the military would be a “huge step” toward relieving the problem, though “more might need to be done.”

Despite the heated rhetoric, the troops are on food stamps largely as the result of a quirk in Department of Agriculture regulations that, in gauging their eligibility, does not count the value of on-base housing as part of their income.

Some military personnel experts contend that, while higher-ranking enlisted personnel have been losing ground against their civilian counterparts, the compensation of the lowest-ranking GIs actually has been rising compared to civilian peers.

Approval From Congress Needed

Officials said it is not clear how many troops would be moved from the food stamp program if the proposal is adopted.

Congress still needs to approve the plan, a step that is not likely until the next presidential administration begins. It probably would take about a year to set up the program, officials said.

A series of pay raises that Congress already has approved will go some distance toward alleviating the problem. The raises will increase troops’ compensation 14.2% between now and 2005, cutting the share of troops eligible for food stamps by about one-third, to 4,200.

The proposed initiative also would give a break to troops living off base.

Currently, the housing allowances they receive are counted by the Agriculture Department as part of their income. This means that they are judged to be too highly paid to qualify for food stamps.

Under the new program, their housing allowances would be excluded from this calculation.

“This new plan is going to improve the well-being of our junior members in the armed forces,” Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said at the news conference.

The troops will have a choice between moving onto the Pentagon’s program or sticking with the food stamp program. They will offer comparable levels of benefits.

Bush condemned the food stamp program last September, saying that it is “not the way a great nation should reward courage and idealism.”

Gore has said in the past that it is “unacceptable” for a single soldier to depend on food stamps.

Nevertheless, one defense official said he expects that at least a small number of troops will remain on food stamps even if the new program is implemented.