BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A plan by some of the most conservative members of the North Dakota Legislature to terminate a pandemic-related emergency declaration could discontinue millions of dollars in food assistance to thousands of the state’s neediest residents, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.
North Dakota and other states that have emergency orders in place have been getting additional money for food stamp allocations, under a package passed by Congress last year aimed at easing the financial blow caused by the pandemic. If lawmakers end the emergency declaration, as proposed in a resolution under consideration, North Dakota would lose $2.8 million monthly for food stamp allocations to nearly 15,425 households, according to the state Department of Human Services, which heads the program.
The agency said households getting assistance for groceries would lose an average of about $184 monthly.
The resolution is sponsored by GOP Rep. Rick Becker, a Bismarck plastic surgeon, commercial real estate developer and former gubernatorial candidate. He also heads the Bastiat Caucus, a far-right group that supports limited government and gun rights.
Becker, an outspoken critic of Gov. Doug Burgum, said Thursday that the intent of the resolution is not to cut off funding to anyone, but to simply end a “perpetual” state of emergency declared by the Republican governor in March.
“I think we can find alternate means to keep that money,” said Becker.
A hearing on the resolution was held last week before the Human Services Committee, but its effect on food stamp allocations was not discussed. The AP inquired about the consequences on Thursday.
The committee took no action and has not yet signaled support for the resolution. It will go to the full House later for consideration.
Burgum has been under pressure to end the emergency declaration from far-right legislators in the Republican-controlled Legislature who think it encroaches on privacy rights. Earlier this month, the second-term governor called it “an absurd idea” to end the emergency declaration “in the middle of this national economic crisis and pandemic.”
Burgum allowed a statewide mask mandate to expire Monday and relaxed limits on the number of people who can gather at restaurants and bars, after North Dakota dropped to the nation’s second-lowest case rate.
Those moves are not tied to his emergency order and have no effect on funding for food stamps, Burgum’s office said.
While Burgum touts a good relationship with the Legislature, many at the state Capitol would call it rocky at best, with major disagreements over policy and spending decisions, even within his own party. He also hasn’t been shy about helping to bankroll campaigns to install legislative allies at the state Capitol and has targeted at least one member of his own party who wasn’t on board with his priorities.
GOP House Majority Leader Chet Pollert said much tension still exists with some members of chamber, “especially over what he did in the elections.”
Pollert said he does not support the resolution to terminate the emergency declaration but many will back it in the chamber, where Republicans hold a two-thirds majority.
“It will be close,” said Pollert, who added that he intends to “educate” members in the chamber about the consequences of killing the emergency declaration.
Becker believes the resolution has only a slim chance in the more moderate Senate, where the GOP also has a supermajority. Only one senator is a co-sponsor on the resolution. Six, in addition to Becker, have signed on in the House.
“It might pass if money wasn’t attached,” he said.
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