UNITED STATES—President Donald Trump has made adjustments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that many disqualify many Americans starting April 1, 2020.
On Wednesday, December 4, the Trump administration made some changes to the current food stamp program. New rules are set go into effect on April 1, where recipients of food stamps will now have new work requirements.
The current work requirements require recipients who are between the ages of 16 and 59 and able to work to adhere to the following guidelines as noted on the SNAP website:
“The general work requirements include registering for work, participating in SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) or workfare if assigned by your state SNAP agency, taking a suitable job if offered, and not voluntarily quitting a job or reducing your work hours below 30 a week without a good reason.”
A second requirement includes:
“If you are age 18 – 49, able to work, and don’t have any dependents, you might need to meet both the general work requirements and an additional work requirement for ABAWDs to get SNAP for more than 3 months in 3 years (the time limit).”
The second requirement can be fulfilled by working at least 80 hours per month or working a program for at least 80 hours a month, amongst other requirements. The new rules going into effect would limit states from waiving such standards, and restricting their use to only certain areas where there is a 6 percent unemployment rate or higher.
According to government statistics, approximately 700,000 recipients could lose their benefits with this new change to the program.
