Samuel Postell/Food Stamp WR during the Trump Administration
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements during the Trump administration are mandated work-related activities, implemented during President Donald Trump's (R) administration, that SNAP recipients must complete in order to qualify for benefits, such as working at least 30 hours a week, completing SNAP Employment and Training (E&T), and taking a suitable job if it is offered.[1]
Background of food stamp work requirements
- See also: U.S. Department of Agriculture
This section includes background information on the SNAP program, formerly named the Food Stamp Program (FSP).
History of SNAP
Food stamps were created by the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) in 1933. The AAA was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Butler (1936). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) created the Food Stamp Program (FSP) in 1939 and ended the program in 1943. The FSP was reestablished in 1964 and some states adopted work requirements for program participation. FSP was renamed SNAP in 2008 when the U.S. Congress passed the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.[2][3][4][5]
General SNAP work requirements
SNAP has two types of work requirements: general work requirements and the ABAWD work requirement and time limit. The general SNAP work requirement mandates that individuals age 16 to 59, who can work, must meet general work requirements to receive SNAP benefits. The general work requirements include registering for work, participating in SNAP Employment and Training (E&T), taking a suitable job if it is offered, and not voluntarily quitting a job or reducing work hours below 30 hours a week without cause.[1]
Individuals do not have to register for general work requirements to receive SNAP benefits if they are already working at least 30 hours a week, meeting work requirements for another public benefits program, taking care of a child under 6 years old or an incapacitated person, unable to work due to a physical or mental limitation, participating in an alcohol or drug treatment program, studying in school, or attending a training program.[1]
Able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) work requirements
The ABAWD SNAP work requirement mandates that individuals age 18 to 49 without children must work or volunteer at least 80 hours a month or participate in a work program such as SNAP Education and Training (E&T) or another federal, state, or local work program at least 80 hours a week. ABAWDs are limited to three months of SNAP eligibility in a 36-month period if they are not meeting work requirements. ABAWDs lose benefits after three months without meeting work requirements. To qualify for SNAP after being removed for not meeting the work requirement, individuals must meet the ABAWD work requirement within a 30-day period or become ineligible for a three-year period.[1][6]
History of food stamp work requirements during the Trump administration
Trump executive order calls for review and enforcement of work requirements
Executive Order 13828: Reducing Poverty in America by Promoting Opportunity and Economic Mobility, signed by President Donald Trump (R) on April 10, 2018, called for a review and enforcement of existing work requirements in SNAP and other public assistance programs. E.O. 13828 called for a review of federally funded workforce development programs and mandated that programs be consolidated if more than one executive department or entity administers similar programs. It mandated that state agencies enforce existing work requirements for public assistance programs, such as SNAP.[7]
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, signed by President Donald Trump (R) on March 18, 2020, allowed states to use temporary SNAP flexibility to provide emergency benefit supplements. The Act prohibited states from removing ABAWDs from the SNAP program unless the individual refused to participate in state work programs or workfare programs. It suspended the participation time limit of three out of 36 months for ABAWDs who did not meet work requirements as long as those individuals did not refuse a work opportunities provided by the state without good cause.[8]
See also
- Arguments about work requirements for public assistance programs
- Court cases related to work requirements for public assistance programs
- Scholarly work related to work requirements for public assistance programs
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 USDA, SNAP Work Requirements, accessed May 16, 2023
- ↑ Oyez, U.S. v. Butler, accessed May 25, 2023
- ↑ Brittanica, Agricultural Adjustment Act, accessed May 25, 2023
- ↑ SNAP to Health, The History of SNAP, accessed May 25, 2023
- ↑ USDA, Food Stamp Program, accessed May 15, 2023
- ↑ HHS, SNAP ABAWD work requirements, accessed June 2, 2023
- ↑ Gov Info, Executive Order 13828, accessed June 1, 2023
- ↑ CBPP, Temporary Flexibility in SNAP, accessed May 16, 2023
