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Office Of Management And Budget To Re-Examine How Poverty Line Is Calculated

The office that oversees the federal poverty line announced last month that it wants to re-examine how that figure is calculated, and it's seeking public comment by June 21.

The Office of Management and Budget will then consider the way inflation is measured. Angie Rodgers is the president and CEO of the Association of Arizona Food Banks.

"But in essence, it lowers the poverty line by a smaller amount of inflation each year. So it's slowly chipping away at that eligibility for public programs," Rogers said. 

And Rogers said if you reduce the poverty threshold, eventually, families who rely on public programs may no longer qualify.

Rogers said the poverty level for a family of four is $25,750.

EDITOR's NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Angie Rodgers's name.

KJZZ senior field correspondent Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets — nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.