An exultant House Speaker Kevin McCarthy twice suggested House Republicans would seek more stringent work requirements for the government’s safety net programs now that the House overwhelmingly approved a debt ceiling bill that also limits federal spending. “Think about how much further we can go,” McCarthy told reporters after the 314-117 roll call.
The legislation would broaden the age group of people who are limited to 90 days of food stamps in a three-year period unless they work at least 80 hours a month. The time limit, created in the 1996 welfare reform law, now applies to able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) ages 18 to 50. The debt bill would change that to ages 18 to 55.
“Let’s get the rest of the work requirements,” said McCarthy at two points during a news conference late Wednesday.
More Democrats than Republicans voted for the bill, which was negotiated by McCarthy and President Biden. McCarthy said the massive, bipartisan support for the bill showed an appetite among lawmakers to rein in spending. “Let’s cut more, because we are in a big debt,” he said. “This is fabulous. This is one of the best nights I’ve ever been here.”
The 2023 farm bill was already a target for cutting SNAP eligibility and spending. House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson has left open the question of cuts to SNAP beyond the debt bill. South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson, a member of the Agriculture Committee, filed a bill in March to apply the 90-day limit to ABAWDs ages 18 to 65.
Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow had no official comment on potential changes to SNAP as part of the farm bill, said a spokesperson. On Wednesday, she cited the advantages of the debt bill in preventing a government default and asked rhetorically, “So is the deal perfect? No, but it’s necessary.”
Earlier this year, Stabenow and Georgia Rep. David Scott, the senior Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, separately said there would be no retreat on SNAP as part of the farm bill.
McCarthy did not specify which programs he meant when he spoke about work requirements. House Republicans also have pursued stronger work requirements for participants in the cash welfare program Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The debt limit bill did not go as far on TANF as a House-passed bill to cut federal spending.
The debt bill would put almost 750,000 ABAWDs — half of them women — at risk of losing SNAP benefits, said the think tank Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Roughly three in 10 would become ineligible “through an expansion of the existing, failed SNAP work-reporting requirement,” it said.
But the legislation also would eliminate the 90-day limit for veterans, homeless people, and young adults up to age 24 who have “aged out” of foster care. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that SNAP enrollment would rise by an overall 78,000 people when both provisions are fully implemented.
The Women, Infants, and Children program could face a $615 million funding shortfall in fiscal 2025 because of the spending limits in the debt bill, said the National WIC Association. “It ties the hands of appropriators who recognize the growing needs of federal programs like WIC,” said Jamila Taylor, the association’s chief executive.
To watch a video of the McCarthy news conference, click here.