photo #9346627

Anthony J Hilder on August 17, 2026

31 views

Dimension: 526 x 794

File Size: 370.29 Kb

View More View Less

Anthony J Hilder

##### Rep Dwayne Yunker S͏t͏r͏e͏s͏p͏d͏o͏o͏n͏i͏5͏8͏h͏8͏2͏t͏i͏m͏m͏m͏1͏4͏g͏t͏t͏a͏0͏8͏6͏t͏8͏2͏h͏i͏f͏8͏g͏f͏g͏2͏h͏5͏h͏4͏t͏1͏1͏0͏l͏c͏0͏1͏0͏9͏i͏u͏8͏0͏8͏ · Governor Kotek is leaving out some pretty important facts. The federal law did not simply arbitrarily throw able-bodied Oregonians off SNAP. It expand... View More##### Rep Dwayne Yunker S͏t͏r͏e͏s͏p͏d͏o͏o͏n͏i͏5͏8͏h͏8͏2͏t͏i͏m͏m͏m͏1͏4͏g͏t͏t͏a͏0͏8͏6͏t͏8͏2͏h͏i͏f͏8͏g͏f͏g͏2͏h͏5͏h͏4͏t͏1͏1͏0͏l͏c͏0͏1͏0͏9͏i͏u͏8͏0͏8͏ · Governor Kotek is leaving out some pretty important facts. The federal law did not simply arbitrarily throw able-bodied Oregonians off SNAP. It expanded existing work requirements for certain adults ages 18–64 without children under 14. Those requirements can be met through 80 hours a month of work, self-employment, volunteering, training or a combination, and there are exemptions for people who qualify. Even Oregon DHS admits that of roughly 20,000 people warned in March that their benefits could close, about 6,000 kept their benefits after showing they qualified for an exemption or met the work requirements. People who lose benefits may also be able to regain them. But here’s the part Governor Kotek isn’t advertising: Oregon had a 14.14% SNAP payment error rate in FY 2025, the sixth-highest rate among the 50 states and well above the 10.62% national rate. Of Oregon’s 14.14%, 13.88 percentage points were overpayments and just 0.26 were underpayments. USDA makes clear that payment errors are not necessarily fraud, but they do measure whether states are paying the correct amount of benefits. So while Governor Kotek points her finger at Washington, perhaps she should explain why Oregon was one of the worst states in America at accurately administering the very program she’s now using for a political press conference. We absolutely should protect food assistance for seniors, people with disabilities, struggling families and others who genuinely need it. But asking able-bodied adults who are subject to the rules to work, volunteer or participate in training is not the same thing as saying people should go hungry. And let’s call this what it looks like: politics. Governor Kotek would much rather make Donald Trump the issue than run on her own record in Oregon. She doesn’t want the conversation to be about affordability, homelessness, housing, taxes, government spending or whether state agencies are delivering results. So the playbook is simple: Blame Trump. Blame Washington. Change the subject. Oregonians deserve the whole story, including the fact that while Tina Kotek lectures Washington about SNAP, her own state government has one of the worst SNAP payment error rates in the country. That’s not accountability. That’s political distraction.

View Less

August 17, 2026