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Concern over SNAP proposed rule

The USDA’s proposed regulation to tighten work requirements for Able Bodied Adults without Dependents on SNAP benefits is something President Trump says a lot of people will be very happy about but not everyone is happy. Senator Debbie Stabenow, ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee, says the SNAP program is already saving $80 Billion dollars because of an improving economy and more people getting jobs. And she says the 2018 Farm Bill, just signed by Trump, takes care of SNAP the “right” way, “We don’t make any cuts in access to food for families which, by the way, averages $4-dollars a day per person for a senior or child or parents and so on. But we do invest in new job training opportunities.”

SNAP cuts in the House farm bill did not make it into the final farm bill. The USDA proposal would put restrictions on state’s abilities to provide SNAP waivers. The White House and USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue call it productivity instead of poverty with a savings of $15 Billion dollars over 10 years.

Feeding America says it is dismayed by the USDA proposal which will increase the risk of food insecurity by nearly one-million people who are already under strict requirements to receive benefits.