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New Jersey is expected to miss out on tens of millions in federal food assistance thanks to Christie's actions.

((AP Photo/Mel Evans))

Before Chris Christie gets busy planning the Trump administration, he's given the most vulnerable people in New Jersey one last kick in the teeth.



This was his conditional veto of a program known as Heat and Eat.



First, some history: For years, states like ours have given the poor a small amount of heating assistance in order to boost the total amount of food stamps they get from the federal government.



The premise was simple. People who struggle to put food on the table also struggle to heat their homes - and shouldn't have to choose between the two.

Food stamps become harder to keep in Christie's state | Editorial



But House Republicans called that gaming the system. They wanted to spend less to feed the poor, so increased what states would have to pay to qualify people for federal food stamps. Unless you receive at least $21 in heating aid, your monthly food stamps would be cut by $90.



Now, enter Chris Christie. Twelve other states stood up for their most vulnerable; instead of allowing such a cut, they increased the heating allowance by using federal or state energy funds. But not our governor.



Last year, he refused pay $3.2 million to bring in $137 million in federal food assistance to 160,000 low-income households -- even though he probably could have used all federal dollars.

Christie reimagines himself as Robin Hood | Editorial



Then, last week, he said he'd come up with a compromise to allow some poor people to escape these cuts. Just one catch: advocates say virtually none would qualify.



Christie said the state will increase the heating allowance only for poor people who have documented their energy expenses. If you can't find a receipt, or an absentee landlord didn't give you a letter, you're flat out of luck, grandma.



He says this is about preventing fraud. Never mind that he can't point to a single such instance in New Jersey. People pay for heat whether they do so separately or though their rent. That's just common sense. Yet unless they produce proof, Christie says they are cheating the system.

Christie's blind spot on our most vulnerable | Editorial



Please. Imagine a retiree trying to live on $11,880 annually, or a single mother trying to raise two kids on $20,160. That's the threshold to qualify for food stamps. These people should get more based on the high cost of living alone in this state. Instead, Christie is nickel and diming them.



Our governor insists he is no enemy of the poor, but his actions tell another story. He vetoed a minimum wage hike, abandoned affordable housing efforts and tried to grab the dedicated funds, hiked commuter fares and abruptly began cutting off housing aid for the poor and people with disabilities.



This year he increased the earned income tax credit, a welcome step, but it came after his cuts of the same program were in place for six years.



Now, add his gutting of Heat and Eat. We know Trump's true feelings about the poor thanks to a quote dug up from 1999. "How smart can they be? They're morons," he said.



We know Christie's thanks to his record.





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