At least 500,000 people will lose food stamp benefits this year “due to the return in many areas of a three-month limit” for so-called ABADs, able-bodied adults without dependents, says the think tank Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. The total could be as high as 1 million people, according to a report by the center.
The 1996 welfare reform law limits ABADs to three months of benefits in a three-year period. Waivers are allowed in areas with high and sustained unemployment rates. “These individuals will lose their food assistance benefits after three months regardless of how hard they are looking for work. The impact will be felt in the 23 states that must or are choosing to reimpose the time limit in 2016,” says the report.
“Because this provision denies basic food assistance to people who want to work and will accept any job or work program slot offered, it is effectively a severe time limit rather than a work requirement, as such requirements are commonly understood.” In 23 states, this will be the first time the three-month limit has been in effect since the 2007-08 recession. The center said Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina and West Virginia will impose the three-month limit in all or part of the states even though they qualify for a statewide waiver; in 19 other states, portions of the state no longer qualify for a waiver.
Meanwhile, the congressionally created National Commission on Hunger said in its report, “The solutions to hunger require a stronger community, robust community engagement, corporate partnerships, and greater personal responsibility, as well as strong government programs.” The commission was told to look for ways to use USDA nutrition programs more effectively. The antihunger group Feeding America said the commission “was constrained from the beginning by its mandate,” so it could only suggest pilot projects for steps such as higher benefits “despite the existing and growing body of high-quality research” that supports them.