SNAP proposal means more hunger, not jobs, Democrats tell Perdue

The Trump administration will shift able-bodied Americans into better-paying jobs through stricter enforcement of a 90-day limit on food stamps, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told skeptical House lawmakers on Wednesday. Democrats such as Rep. Jim McGovern demanded proof that the plan would work and warned of litigation to stop the proposal, which could end SNAP benefits to more than 700,000 people. Congress rejected stricter SNAP work requirements in the 2018 farm law. All the same, President Trump announced “immediate action on welfare reform” as he signed the farm bill. “It’s called work rules, and Sonny is able under this bill to implement them through regulation.”The proposal would restrict state use of waivers that allow so-called able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) aged 18 to 49 to receive food stamps for more than the usual limit of 90 days in a three-year period unless they work at least 20 hours a week or spend equivalent time in job training. The 90-day limit was set as part of welfare reform in 1996.