Americans up to 65 may need to work to get food stamps: Republican launches bill to enforce tougher work requirements for federal benefits – with 11m vacancies
- Bill would try to prevent states from using waivers to circumvent work requirements for food stamps
- Currently, SNAP recipients must work part-time between the ages of 18 and 49 or have their benefits withdrawn after three months.
- The new bill would require them to work from 18 to 65
House Republicans introduced a bill this week that would eliminate gaps in work requirements to receive SNAP benefits and require those using the program to work until age 65.
Current federal law requires able-bodied Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients who do not have children and are between the ages of 18 and 49 to work, attend school, or train for at least 20 hours per week.
Beneficiaries are only allowed to receive benefits for a maximum of three months every three years, unless they meet the working conditions.
The bill, led by Rep. Dusty Johnson, RS.D., and co-sponsored by two dozen Republicans, would extend that age and eliminate waivers currently used by 18 states to exempt recipients from work requirements.
“Work is the best way out of poverty,” Johnson said. “Work requirements have proven effective and people who can work should work. With more than 11 million jobs open, SNAP beneficiaries have many opportunities to escape poverty and build better lives.
The bill, led by Rep. Dusty Johnson, RS.D., and co-sponsored by two dozen Republicans, would extend that age and eliminate waivers currently used by 18 states to exempt recipients from work requirements.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, there were 1.36 million households with able-bodied adults and no dependents who received SNAP benefits despite earning zero dollars gross income. Johnson’s office claimed it was because states were “abusing” work requirement waivers.
The United States added 311,000 jobs to the payroll in February, beating expectations and the country currently has an unemployment rate of 3.4%.
The bill maintains current law requiring able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) to be subject to a three-month limit on SNAP benefits unless they work 80 hours a month.
But the bill would eliminate states’ ability to carry over exemption waivers from year to year. Johnson’s office said it would help “reduce instances of stockpiling and hinder abuse of the law.”
Under current “robust flexibility,” states are allowed to exempt recipients from work requirements, 12% of state workloads are eligible to bypass work in exchange for benefits.
About 42 million Americans enjoy the benefits of SNAP.
Johnson wants the legislation attached to the must-have farm bill that the two sides need to come together to reauthorize.
Johnson, a member of the agriculture committee, relied on food stamps as a child. He told voters in his South Dakota general district on Election Day that his top priorities in Congress would be reforming SNAP and tackling high energy costs.
Approximately 42 million Americans are currently enjoying the benefits of SNAP
“Work is an opportunity. It’s not a punishment,’ he said in Sioux Falls, SD
Congress increased SNAP benefits during the pandemic in light of mass layoffs, but those extensions ended in February.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats pushed to expand SNAP and eliminate the three-month deadline for receiving benefits without work.
Representatives Barbara Lee of California and Alma Adams of North Carolina reintroduced the Improved Access to Nutrition Act earlier this month, with Lee calling the work requirement “punitive and arbitrary.”
“These guys talk about states’ rights all the time, except when it comes to the poor,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D., Mass.) told Politico of the bill ahead of its announcement.
