Brown, Carr reject Stamps’ call to allow SNAP benefits to be used to pay water bills

Brown, Carr reject Stamps' call.

Key points

• Central District PSC Commissioner De'Keither Stamps (D) speaks at the Neshoba County Fair (Photo by Frank Corder Magnolia Tribune).
• Hurricane Katrina in 2005 additionally caused historic damage along the Mississippi Coast, leaving only slabs along much of the 80-plus mile coast line.
• Federal prosecutors say the Nigerian man posed as a 19-year-old female from North Carolina to blackmail the Starkville 16-year-old for funds over nude photos.
• Central District Commissioner De'Keither Stamps remarked he will continue to push for the idea by writing a letter to Governor Tate Reeves (R) to seek his backing.
• As a longtime Mississippian Gulf Coast resident, Carr remarked he was 8 years old when Hurricane Camille struck.

Brown, Carr reject Stamps' call to allow SNAP benefits to be applied to pay water bills. By: Jeremy Pittari – September 3, 2026.

Central District Commissioner De'Keither Stamps remarked he will continue to push for the idea by writing a letter to Governor Tate Reeves (R) to seek his backing. Such a change would require federal action.

One of Mississippi's three public service commissioners is pushing for a way for low-income residents to keep their water on by using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, otherwise known as food stamps, to pay their water bills.

Central Public Service Commissioner De'Keither Stamps (D) pitched the idea of a "SNAP H2O" program where recipients of the federally funded food assistance program would be able to employ their benefits to pay water bills. Not only would that option keep resident's homes connected to water, Stamps remarked it would backing the state's utility systems.

"We need every water system in this state to be at 100 percent collections in order to maintain our services, " Stamps explained.

When bills go unpaid, the entire system suffers as there is then a lack of funding to maintain lines, towers and other components involved in providing water to homes and businesses.

Stamps informed his fellow commissioners this week at their monthly gathering that during a recent water drive in his area, he heard of individuals using their SNAP EBT cards to purchase bottled water to be donated for the cause.

"But they couldn't pay for their own water bill themselves, " Stamps remarked. "So, this is just a way that they can do that."

Since it would apply the existing benefits through the SNAP program, implementation of Stamps' plan would not require extra funding.

"It doesn't require any new federal funds. It doesn't require any new assistance, " Stamps remarked. "Right now, SNAP EBT card holders are spending hundreds of millions of dollars, $950 million a year of their SNAP benefits, buying bottled water. Some are even selling their benefits to other individuals to secure cash to pay a water bill."

Since it would only require a simple change in wording within the U.S, to Commissioner Stamps, providing the option to beneficiaries of the program would be straightforward to put in place. Department of Human Services.

"DHS would just classify water as food, " Stamps remarked. "This is a time where Mississippians can just go back to being a little bit rebellious. We don't have to follow Washington D.C. All the time. We can spur them into action."

When his pitch came up for a vote, it died for a lack of a second by the other two Public Service Commissioners, Northern Commissioner Chris Brown (R) and Southern Commissioner Wayne Carr (R).

"I don't know when Mississippi got to a point where it worships presidents, where it worships people in Washington D.C., " Stamps remarked. "Washington D.C. Does not run Mississippi, Mississippi runs Mississippi."

In another matter, Commissioner Carr reminded Mississippians that September is National Preparedness Month, the goal of which is to ensure residents have a plan for their family and pets when a disaster strikes. The aim for the designation is to reduce a family's reliance on emergency responders in the immediate aftermath of a major disaster such as a tornado, hurricane or other crisis situation, allowing those personnel the ability to focus on bigger problems at hand.

"If you've ever been around a crisis, or a tornado or a hurricane, you see that Mississippians come together, " Carr remarked. "It's unbelievable."

As such, families and stakeholders in the state are pressed to attend a summit, "From Recovery to Resilience, " set for next month at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. During the event, attendees will be able to see the phases of disaster response. The summit will be held on October 8 and start at 9 a.m. Registration is required but there is no cost to attend.

Community leaders, representatives of utility firms, local elected office-holders, schools, hospitals, emergency response professionals and the general public are invited and pressed to attend, Carr remarked.

"A community expo will run through the day, and lunch will be provided, " Carr described.

As a longtime Mississippian Gulf Coast resident, Carr remarked he was 8 years old when Hurricane Camille struck. He still recalls the devastation it brought to his family.

"I saw chickens flying 150 miles an hour, " Carr described of his family's chicken houses. "It's amazing what a storm will do."

"You know how the old timers said, 'Go down and see that red mailbox, take a right'? There was no mailbox, there was nothing there, " Carr remarked of the landscape after Katrina.

While the rebuilding process has been solid over the past 21 years, Carr stated it is not complete, adding that Mississippi Power is still regarding 250 meters short of pre-Katrina numbers. Regarding the Author(s).

Jeremy Pittari is a lifelong resident of the Gulf Coast. Born and raised in Slidell, La., he moved to South Mississippi in the early 90s. Jeremy earned an associate in arts from Pearl River Community College and went on to attend the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned a bachelor's of arts in journalism. A week after Hurricane Katrina, he began an internship as a reporter with the community newspaper in Pearl River County. After graduation, he accepted a full-time position at that news outlet where he covered the recovery process post Katrina in Pearl River and Hancock Counties. For almost 17 years he wrote concerning local administration, education, law enforcement, crime, business and a variety of other topics. Email Jeremy: [email protected].

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In short, brown, Carr reject Stamps’ call to allow SNAP benefits to be used is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.