Policymakers are ready to get serious about work requirements for food stamps, with both Congress and the Trump administration working on ways to improve the program.
The number of waivers peaked in 2009, when Congress allowed the Obama administration to waive the program's work requirements for all states.
Work requirements have a proven record of success in moving people from welfare to self-sufficiency.
In 2015, Maine began enforcing work requirements for food stamps despite partial waiver eligibility and saw an 80 percent drop in its work-capable caseload in just three months.
As for Congress, Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., and 97 co-sponsors have introduced a bill, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reform Act of 2017, that would eliminate all waivers for the current work requirement, shorten the length of time one can receive benefits without work, and shrink the proportion of people states can exempt from the requirement.
The administration's desire to reintroduce meaningful work requirements is a step in the right direction, but significant change in the welfare system will require a much more robust reform effort.
As Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, argues, "Small changes in regulations will not be enough to fix the welfare system. What is needed is welfare reform legislation that establishes work requirements for all programs that provide cash, food, or housing benefits to adults who can work."
http://dailysignal.com/2018/03/05/work-requirements-have-revolutionized-welfare-at-the-state-level-now-its-uncle-sams-turn/
The number of waivers peaked in 2009, when Congress allowed the Obama administration to waive the program's work requirements for all states.
Work requirements have a proven record of success in moving people from welfare to self-sufficiency.
In 2015, Maine began enforcing work requirements for food stamps despite partial waiver eligibility and saw an 80 percent drop in its work-capable caseload in just three months.
As for Congress, Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., and 97 co-sponsors have introduced a bill, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reform Act of 2017, that would eliminate all waivers for the current work requirement, shorten the length of time one can receive benefits without work, and shrink the proportion of people states can exempt from the requirement.
The administration's desire to reintroduce meaningful work requirements is a step in the right direction, but significant change in the welfare system will require a much more robust reform effort.
As Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, argues, "Small changes in regulations will not be enough to fix the welfare system. What is needed is welfare reform legislation that establishes work requirements for all programs that provide cash, food, or housing benefits to adults who can work."
http://dailysignal.com/2018/03/05/work-requirements-have-revolutionized-welfare-at-the-state-level-now-its-uncle-sams-turn/
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