Industry Insight: Congress Mulls Barring Private Sector Support From Food Stamp Program

Coming soon from Capitol Hill could be yet another barrier to better government services, this time focused on welfare programs implemented by the states.

Recently the House of Representatives passed a legislative provision in the Farm Bill Extension Act of 2007 (HR 2419) banning non-government workers from performing certain services for the Food Stamp Program (FSP) and other state nutrition initiatives. The Senate could consider the measure shortly after lawmakers return next month.

Measures like these protect the livelihood of unionized government workers at the expense of the American people as taxpayers and as citizens. If passed, this amendment from California Congressman Joe Baca (D) would deprive the citizen beneficiaries of the best services; limit states' use of the best technology available " thus curtailing states' rights; terminate a modernization project underway in Indiana; and serve as a model for legislation aimed at other federally funded state programs.

The amendment would bar private sector companies and other groups from collecting food stamp applications, analyzing data on applicants, and communicating with recipients after their cases have been opened - all activities that can aid in improved decision-making and case management by state workers and better outcomes for recipients. It would likely kill a $1.16 billion initiative in Indiana to modernize its welfare system, forcing rollbacks of some of the child protection gains the state has made.

Indiana is a state where the health and welfare of children often rate in the lowest 25 percent of the country. Needy families could soon be applying for and accessing benefits via modern voice-based and online applications, rather than waiting in long lines in government buildings. Indiana's reams of paper records will soon be replaced with electronic files. But not if Congress enacts this amendment. Worse still, if it passes, the measure could affect private-sector supported public nutrition programs in as many as 20 other states.

What comes first, job security for government workers or the health and welfare of America's poor?

That is the question the Information Technology Association of America hopes lawmakers will ask themselves before taking this action. We believe that food stamp recipients and taxpayers deserve the same innovative modes of access and benefits from efficiency in the back office as they experience when they interact with retail chains, financial services institutions, and other commercial organizations.

State governments that do not have the human resources, experience or expertise to modernize their food stamp programs on their own must be allowed to improve the status quo through partnerships with the private sector and non-profit organizations. The Baca provisions would condemn those states to continually poor performance and should be struck from the Farm Bill.

Phil Bond is president and CEO of Information Technology Association of America.

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