700,000 people could lose food stamps under Trump administration's new SNAP rules

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption New SNAP rules could cause 700,000 people to lose access to food stamps Nearly 700,000 people to lose food stamps with USDA rule change.

In a move that will knock hundreds of thousands of people off the federal food stamp rolls, the Trump administration on Wednesday formally tightened work requirements for the program that helps feed more than 36 million Americans.

Eligibility for food stamps, known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is based on a formula that takes into consideration family size, citizenship status, household income and certain expenses. It can apply to individuals as well as families.

The new rule, which was finalized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, restricts states from exempting certain "work-eligible adults" without dependents from the steady employment requirement in order to receive SNAP benefits.

The change, which takes effect on April 1, 2020, does not apply to children and their parents, those over 50 (including the elderly), those with a disability or pregnant women.

When the rule change was first proposed in February, the USDA estimated that as many as 750,000 people would be dropped from the program. It revised that figure on Wednesday to 688,000.

Background: Trump administration proposes cutting 3 million off food stamp rolls

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in an opinion column published by the Arizona Daily Star on Wednesday that the food stamp program "was never intended to be a way of life."

“Americans are generous people who believe it is their responsibility to help their fellow citizens when they encounter a difficult stretch," he wrote. "Government can be a powerful force for good, but government dependency has never been the American dream. We need to encourage people by giving them a helping hand but not allowing it to become an indefinitely giving hand.”

During what Perdue called the strongest economy in a generation, “we need everyone who can work, to work."

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York said Wednesday that the new rule "would potentially throw hundreds of thousands off food assistance, driving the vulnerable into hunger just as the Christmas season begins."

"This is cruel and exposes a deep and shameful hypocrisy in this administration," he said in remarks on the Senate floor.

Brandon Lipps, deputy undersecretary for the USDA's Food Nutrition and Consumer Services, said the change would save roughly $5.5 billion over five years. He said the department estimates that 74% of the "work-eligible adults" without dependents are not working.

SNAP: Food stamps are more popular in these cities than anywhere else

Under long-standing rules, adults ages 18 to 49 who are "work eligible" and have no dependents can receive only three months of SNAP benefits during a three-year period if they do not meet the 20-hour-a-week work requirement.

States with high unemployment rates or a demonstrable lack of sufficient jobs, however, can waive those time limits.

The department's announcement noted that just over 17 million people received SNAP benefits in 2000 when the unemployment rate was 4%, while 36 million were receiving them in 2019 when the unemployment rate is 3.6%.

The new rule makes 6% the minimum unemployment rate for a county to receive a waiver.

The department said that there are "a wide range" of ways for people to keep their benefits under the new rule through SNAP-funded Employment and Training programs.

The new rule also tightens the state's ability to roll over any unused exemptions into the next year.

Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive think tank, says most of the people who could face removal from SNAPs are ineligible for other forms of government financial assistance because they are not elderly, severely disabled or raising minor children.

"For many of them, SNAP is the only assistance they can receive to help make ends meet," he said.

He also said the unemployment rate that triggers exemptions will be based on historical data that would not reflect any economic downturn until months later.

Greenstein, noting that both Democratic and Republican governors have requested such waivers in the past, said 36 states currently use them in areas of their state where unemployment is highest.