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Lawmaker Wants Food Stamp Benefits Extended To More Needy Ohioans

More than one in six Ohio households is facing food insecurity. Democratic State Representative Dan Ramos is urging Republican Governor John Kasich to restore access to food stamp benefits for 135 thousand unemployed Ohioans. Federal food stamp rules require adults to work or participate in a job training program. But states are allowed the wave the work requirement if the economic climate is less than robust. Ramos says the Kasich administration is asking for the waiver to be in effect in 16 counties in the coming year.

Ramos says he will soon introduce legislation requiring the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to request a waiver for food stamp recipients in all federally qualified counties. The governor's office says the state's unemployment rate has declined since 2010. But Ramos says unemployment remains high, and a large number of people are unable to find work.

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.
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