Reform proposals related to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements
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This page includes a selection of reform proposals related to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements. These reform proposals come from state legislative proposals, model legislative proposals, policy white papers, and scholarly articles.
For more information about the main areas of inquiry and disagreement related to work requirements for public assistance programs, click here.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements are mandated work-related activities that SNAP recipients must complete in order to qualify for benefits, such as working at least 30 hours a week, participating in SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) programs, and taking a suitable job if it is offered. SNAP—formerly known as food stamps—has two types of work requirements: general work requirements and able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) work requirements. States can request temporary waivers from certain ABAWD work requirements in areas where the unemployment rate exceeds 10% or where insufficient jobs are available.
The following sections feature reform proposals related to SNAP work requirements, such as requiring able-bodied adults to work or allowing for certain waivers.
Limit state waivers to SNAP work requirements
This reform proposal would limit state waivers that allow SNAP work requirement exemptions for able-bodied adults under certain conditions.
- The Heritage Foundation released a 2016 report examining Maine's 2014 decision to end the SNAP work requirement waiver for able-bodied adults. The report proposed, “In keeping with the success of both the 1990s welfare reform and Maine’s recent food stamp work requirement, the U.S. government should require constructive behavior from able-bodied recipients in exchange for benefits. Specifically, able-bodied adult food stamp recipients without dependents should be required to take a job, prepare for work, perform community service, or at a minimum search for employment in exchange for aid and assistance at the taxpayers’ expense. This reform would save taxpayers $9.7 billion per year.”[1]
- The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) proposed in a 2019 white paper that the Trump "administration should prohibit waivers in jurisdictions where there are sufficient jobs within commuting distance.”[2]
Congress should allow work requirement waivers to respond to economic conditions
This proposal would allow for automatic waivers from SNAP work requirements under certain economic circumstances.
- In a 2020 economic analysis for The Hamilton Project, Lauren Bauer, Jana Parsons, and Jay Shambaugh wrote, “In addition to using its discretion to enact work requirement waivers, Congress should consider making additions to the ‘lack of sufficient jobs’ evidence:
- National: A nationwide work requirement suspension would go into effect (or maintain an enacted waiver) when the Sahm recession indicator (Sahm 2019) triggers on. This waiver would sunset a year after the Sahm recession indicator turns on or when the three-month moving average of the national unemployment rate falls to within 2 percentage points of the prerecession level, whichever comes later.
- State: State-wide work requirement waivers would go into effect when Congress authorizes [emergency unemployment compensation (EUC)] and would sunset two years past the final date in which EUC is effective in the state. The link to [unemployment insurance extended benefits] (that was removed from the proposed rule to the final rule) should be maintained for statewide waiver eligibility.”[3]
Increase the age to meet work requirements
This proposal would raise the age for able-bodied adult SNAP recipients to meet work requirements.
- The Let's Get to Work Act of 2023, introduced on January 24, 2023, by U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.), proposed raising the age for able-bodied adults to meet SNAP work requirements from age 50 to age 60. "For our country to thrive, we need every American who can work to do so," said Scott in a statement. "I believe that any able-bodied, working-age adult who receives government benefits ought to work. This requirement means that those who receive benefits paid for with taxpayer dollars contribute to our economy."[4][5]
See also
- Areas of inquiry and disagreement related to work requirements for public assistance programs
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements during the Biden administration
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements during the Trump administration
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements in the states
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ "The Heritage Foundation," "Maine Food Stamp Work Requirement Cuts Non-Parent Caseload by 80 Percent," February 8, 2016
- ↑ "FGA," "Waivers Gone Wild: How States Are Still Fostering Dependency," April 16, 2019
- ↑ "The Hamilton Project," "Who Stands to Lose If the Final SNAP Work Requirement Rule Takes Effect?" accessed December 12, 2023
- ↑ "Congress.gov," "S.39 - Let's Get to Work Act of 2023," accessed December 20, 2023
- ↑ Rick Scott, "Sen. Rick Scott Reintroduces Bill to Get Americans Back to Work," January 24, 2023
