House Republicans proposed broader application of a 90-day limit on food stamps for able-bodied adults as part of the annual USDA-FDA funding bill on Wednesday. The proposal mirrors the GOP position in debt ceiling negotiations with President Biden.
“I’m not going to accept any work requirements that go much beyond what” already exist, said Biden before leaving Washington for the G7 summit in Japan. “But it’s possible there could be a few others, but not anything of any consequence.”
As a result of the 1996 welfare reform law, so-called ABAWDs — able-bodied adults without dependents ages 18 to 49 — are limited to 90 days of SNAP benefits in a three-year period unless they work at least 20 hours a week, perform workfare, or are in a job training program.
The 90-day limit would apply to ABAWDs ages 18 to 55 under a rider that is part of the Republican-written, 113-page USDA-FDA appropriations bill for the fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1. The House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture was scheduled to vote on the bill on Thursday.
Republicans say that stricter use of the 90-day limit will mean “that those who can work will join the workforce.” Opponents, such as Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern, say the so-called work requirements “don’t work. They only cut off people from the meager benefits they need to eat.”
Roughly 1 million people would be at risk of losing SNAP benefits under the GOP’s “harsh work-reporting requirement,” said the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a think tank.
Conservative Republicans tried without success to slash SNAP spending and tighten eligibility for food stamps in the 2014 and 2018 farm bills. A new attempt is expected when lawmakers draft the new farm bill this year.
The USDA-FDA bill would also cut by as much as 70 percent the amount WIC participants receive each month to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, said the CBPP. The National WIC Association said the $800 million cut was “quite literally taking food off of kids’ plates.” The GOP listed the change in WIC benefits as part of “cuts to wasteful spending.”
Republicans also would rescind $2 billion that was earmarked in the 2022 climate, health, and tax law for loan forgiveness to USDA borrowers and $3.25 billion designated for a rural clean energy program.
To read a four-page summary of the USDA-FDA funding bill, click here.
Text of the USDA-FDA funding bill is available here.