The fiscal 2015 budget resolution proposed by House Budget chairman Paul Ryan again calls for converting food stamps to a block grant program run by states. Several other restrictions sought by conservatives on food stamp eligibility are proposed, among them ending so-called categorical eligibility created in welfare reform, limiting benefits to able-bodied adults without dependents, and tougher “heat and eat” rules. The proposals, which would disqualify an estimated 3.8 million people, were backed by the House last year but were rejected in the compromise 2014 farm law.
The Budget Committee is scheduled to mark up the resolution today. Ryan expects the GOP-controlled House will pass the resolution, said Roll Call.
Under Ryan’s latest proposal, food stamps would become a block grant in 2019 with “an allotment tailored for each state’s low-income population, indexed for inflation and eligibility…It would also envision improving work incentives by requiring a certain amount of people to engage in work activity, such as job search, community service jobs, and education and job training. This proposal is estimated to save $125 billion over 10 years.”
Ryan also proposed $23 bln in savings from crop subsidies and crop insurance. “The budget takes into account the savings that the farm bill achieved and then proposes that additional savings be found,” says the 99-page committee plan. The Agriculture Committee said in a March 13 letter that the $16.6 bln cuts in the new farm law should be enough and that no more cuts should be made.