Nearly 700,000 Americans To Lose Food Stamp Benefits As Trump Administration Tightens Work Requirements For Program
The Agriculture Department estimates the change, which will limit states from exempting work-eligible adults from having to maintain steady employment, would save roughly $5.5 billion over five years. But critics say the move will hurt the most vulnerable Americans. “Instead of combating food insecurity for millions ... the administration is inflicting their draconian rule on millions of Americans across the nation who face the highest barriers to employment and economic stability,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Media outlets look at how the rule will affect people in states across the country.
The Associated Press:
668,000 Will Lose Food Stamp Benefits Under New Work Rules
Hundreds of thousands of Americans who rely on the federal food stamp program will lose their benefits under a new Trump administration rule that will tighten work requirements for recipients. The move by the administration is the latest in its attempt to scale back the social safety net for low-income Americans. It is the first of three proposed rules targeting the Supplemental Nutrition Program, known as SNAP, to be finalized. The program feeds more than 36 million people. (Linderman, 12/4)
The New York Times:
Hundreds Of Thousands Are Losing Access To Food Stamps
The rule, which was proposed by the Agriculture Department in February, would press states to carry out work requirements for able-bodied adults without children that governors have routinely been allowed to waive, especially for areas in economic distress. The economy has improved under the Trump administration, the department argued, and assistance to unemployed, able-bodied adults was no longer necessary in a strong job market. The change is expected to shave nearly $5.5 billion from food stamp spending over five years. “Government can be a powerful force for good, but government dependency has never been the American dream,” said Sonny Perdue, the agriculture secretary. “We need to encourage people by giving them a helping hand but not allowing it to become an indefinitely giving hand.” (Fadulu, 12/4)
NPR:
Nearly 700,000 SNAP Recipients Could Lose Benefits Under New Trump Rule
SNAP statutes already limit adults to three months of benefits in a three-year period unless they meet the 20 hours per week requirement, but many states currently waive that requirement in high unemployment areas. This change would make those waivers harder to get. "The rule restores the system to what Congress intended: assistance through difficult times, not a way of life," Perdue said. As NPR reported last year, though, Congress passed the farm bill without changes like these to SNAP. (Fessler and Treisman, 12/4)
Reuters:
Trump Administration Moves To Remove 700,000 People From Food Stamps
Critics say the moves will hurt poor Americans. “This is an unacceptable escalation of the administration’s war on working families, and it comes during a time when too many are forced to stretch already-thin budgets to make ends meet,” said U.S. Representative Marcia Fudge, an Ohio Democrat. (Polansek, 12/4)
NBC News:
Nearly 700,000 Will Lose Food Stamps With USDA Work Requirement Change
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, said this rule would do little to help anyone find work. All the rule change does is strip people from accessing the benefit, she said. "This Administration is out of touch with families who are struggling to make ends meet by working seasonal jobs or part time jobs with unreliable hours," Stabenow said. "Seasonal holiday workers, workers in Northern Michigan’s tourism industry, and workers with unreliable hours like waiters and waitresses are the kinds of workers hurt by this proposal." The senator also noted that an attempt to add work requirements to SNAP had failed in Congress when they had considered the Farm Bill last year. The House rejected it in a bipartisan vote of 330-83, and the Senate voted down a similar amendment 68-30. (McCausland, 12/4)
USA Today:
Food Stamps: Americans In Cold Weathered States Could Get Less Aid
Americans who live in cold-weather states like Vermont, New York and South Dakota could be the next to feel the impact of the Trump administration’s efforts to tighten food-stamp eligibility. (Picchi, 12/5)
KABC:
200K Californians Could Lose Food Stamp Benefits Under New Rule, Researchers Say
About 200,000 people in California could lose benefits once the new rule is implemented because it would limit states ability to obtain such waivers. "That's important in a state like California which has had pretty variable unemployment rates across the state," she said. The change would affect adults with no dependents 18-49. "Many of these are among our most vulnerable adults," said Waxman. (Munoz, 12/5)
WKYT:
Report: 40,000 Kentuckians Could Lose Food Stamps With New Work Requirement
Feeding Kentucky says this could cause havoc for food pantries across the nation. Feeding Kentucky acts as the middle man for hundreds of food pantries across Kentucky. They work to find resources and send them to pantries ultimately to be passed out in communities. Kentucky remains as a top state for hunger to be a living issue. Feeding Kentucky says the change will cause more people to take advantage of pantries, which in theory is what they are for. However, the organization says many pantries are already unable to provide for the need at hand. (12/4)
Columbus Dispatch:
Thousands Of Ohioans Will Lose Food Stamps Under Change By Trump Administration
An estimate of the number of Ohioans among the 688,000 people ages 18 to 49 nationwide who would be disqualified from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits effective April 1 was not available from state officials. “It’s going to be catastrophic. This is a systematic attempt to destroy a federal nutrition safety net for our most vulnerable citizens,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks. (Ludlow, 12/4)
Atlanta Journal Constitution:
New USDA Rules Tighten Access To Food Stamps
There are about 54,000 childless Georgia adults who receive SNAP and are not subjected to the federal time limits, according to state data. But they would be in April under the new rules. “Americans are generous people who believe it is their responsibility to help their fellow citizens when they encounter a difficult stretch,” Perdue told reporters on the call. “We want to encourage people by giving them a helping hand, but not an infinitely giving hand.” (Prabhu, 12/4)
Atlanta Journal Constitution:
In Georgia, Food Stamp Use And Prices Highest In Rural Areas
Rural Georgians are more likely to need the help of food stamps to pay for their groceries, but that public help probably doesn’t stretch as far as it does in places such as Atlanta because of higher food prices in small-town stores. Poor, rural Georgians pay more for fresh lettuce, macaroni and cheese, and other foods in part because there is so little competition for their business, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution review. (Prabhu, 11/27)
WPMI:
South Alabama Residents React To Food Stamp Changes
Changes to the food stamp program will impact hundreds of thousands of people across the country and thousands of families in Alabama. It will bring around $5 billion in savings to taxpayers. The premise is that there are currently more job openings than people to fill them. With the new rules in Alabama, it's estimated some 5,800 people will lose access to food stamps. (Gordon, 12/4)
WAFB:
How Does The New Food Stamp Rule Affect Louisiana?
Nearly 50,000 Louisianans could be affected by new work rules for food stamp benefits. The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) says of the 810,000 Louisiana residents who get Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, around 49,000 meet the definition of an able-bodied adult without dependents. (12/4)
CBS Miami/AP:
Trump Admin’s Food Stamp Change Could Impact Free Lunches In Florida Schools
About 200,000 Florida students could become ineligible for automatic free school lunches under a Trump administration proposal expected to reduce the number of food stamps enrollees, according to state education officials. Children automatically qualify for free lunches if their families receive food stamps, but in July the Trump administration proposed tightening eligibility for what was formerly called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. A finalized rule could come as soon as the end of the month. (12/4)
Chicago Tribune:
Food Stamp Program Changes Could Mean Higher Need For Aurora, DuPage Food Pantries
With proposed changes to the federal food stamp program looming, some food pantries in Aurora, DuPage County and across the suburbs are bracing for a spike in clients. (12/4)
