Politics & Government
Rep. O'Connell Pays to Look into EBT Balances
Shaunna O'Connell wants to find out how many people have EBT balances over $1,500, and she was required to pay $800 to get access to those records.
Rep. Shaunna O'Connell (R-Taunton), who represents part of Easton, gave the Department of Transitional Assistance a check for $800 yesterday in order to get copies of records that show how many people have over $1,500 on their EBT cards, according to the Boston Herald.
O'Connell has made welfare reform one of her missions, and she told the Herald that people who have that much money accumulated on their EBT cards don't need assistance.
State Auditor Suzanne Bump recently released a report showing that $2.4 million had been given to dead people, and that millions more ahd been given to people collecting benefits from other states.
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O'Connell feels this raises many questions over whether many of the people receiving assistance actually need it. Calling the $800 they made her pay to acquire the records, which she'll receive in about 10 days, a "ransom," O'Connell explained to the Herald that she did it because "the public has a right to know."
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