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Rendell Visits Harrisburg To Ask Corbett To Change Food Stamp Policy

By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) - A year after leaving office, former Governor Ed Rendell returned to the state capitol to take his successor to task over a pending change in policy on food stamp benefits.

Rendell says there's already a means test, to verify low-income, to qualify for food stamps, so Rendell says there's no reason to also re-instate the policy of studying a family's assets as well.

"So governor, you are a decent and honorable man. You care about the welfare of individual Pennsylvanians. There is no reason to hurt 36,000 Pennsylvania households."

Governor Corbett's spokesman Kevin Harley replied.

"Governor Rendell is an expert on food stamps because the number of Pennsylvanians on food stamps more than doubled during his administration."

Rendell argues that re-imposing an asset test will only increase costs to the state and notes that the program is entirely funded by federal dollars. Harley says there is waste and fraud to be eliminated and says they're all tax dollars, whether they are state or federal.

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