The bipartisan debt-ceiling bill that President Joe Biden signed into law Saturday contains stricter work requirements for those receiving food assistance, along with new exemptions that could widen access for others.
Under the new rules, the age of participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, who need to provide proof of work has been raised from 18-49 to 18-54. That means many poor Americans in their early 50s without a disability or dependents to care for could become ineligible or face new bureaucratic hurdles in proving they qualify.
At the same time, the bill also exempts veterans, homeless people and young people aging out of foster care from SNAP work requirements, a carve-out the White House and Democrats have touted as a victory. (Nonpartisan federal researchers project that the debt limit bill’s changes would slightly expand SNAP rolls on balance by about 0.2% , or around 78,000 people, in an average month.)
Many conservative leaders and experts at think tanks argue that the tighter requirements are necessary to move more unemployed Americans into the workforce, especially in a historically tight labor market that keeps adding jobs at a surprising clip . But an NBC News analysis of Census Bureau and other data paints a more complicated picture.
For starters, most families who participate in SNAP — where the average monthly benefit comes in at about $230 per person — are already working, and poverty — not unemployment — is the major challenge they face. Most families receiving SNAP benefits are already […]
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