Adding Work Requirements To SNAP Benefits Drives People To Food Pantries Not Toward Jobs
West Virginia has already adopted work requirements for its food stamp program and can act as a bellwether of what to expect as the Trump administration implements the policy nationwide. Like with other safety net programs, however, it's very rarely a lack of will that stops people from working while on benefits, but rather the reality of being poor in America. So the requirements do little other than force people to find charity programs to help.
The New York Times:
What Happened When A State Made Food Stamps Harder To Get
In the early mornings, Chastity and Paul Peyton walk from their small and barely heated apartment to Taco Bell to clean fryers and take orders for as many work hours as they can get. It rarely adds up to full-time week’s worth, often not even close. With this income and whatever cash Mr. Peyton can scrape up doing odd jobs — which are hard to come by in a small town in winter, for someone without a car — the couple pays rent, utilities and his child support payments. Then there is the matter of food. (Robertson, 1/13)
Columbus Dispatch:
20,000 Poor Ohioans To Lose Food Stamps Under New Rules From Trump Administration
Nearly 20,000 poor Ohioans are expected to lose food stamp benefits as federal regulators impose stricter work requirements on able-bodied adults. The estimate of disqualified adults was released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services in response to the announcement of eligibility changes by President Donald Trump’s administration beginning April 1. (Candisky, 1/13)
In other news from the administration —
The Washington Post:
Trump Restrictions On Fetal Tissue Research Unsettle Key Studies And Scientists
A recent Trump administration decision to limit funding of research that uses fetal tissue is already disrupting research into major diseases, including AIDS, Down syndrome and diabetes, scientists say. The controversial federal funding rules, announced seven months ago, are reshaping scientists’ research paths and the grants they seek from the National Institutes of Health. Graduate students cannot get training grants if their research involves fetal tissue. (Goldstein, 1/13)
Stat/Science:
FDA And NIH Let Clinical Trial Sponsors Keep Results Secret
For 20 years, the U.S. government has urged companies, universities, and other institutions that conduct clinical trials to record their results in a federal database, so doctors and patients can see whether new treatments are safe and effective. Few trial sponsors have consistently done so, even after a 2007 law made posting mandatory for many trials registered in the database. In 2017, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration tried again, enacting a long-awaited “final rule” to clarify the law’s expectations and penalties for failing to disclose trial results. (Piller, 1/14)
