The Trump administration plans to kick 700,000 off food stamps during a pandemic
The coronavirus outbreak may be an economic and public health crisis, but that isn’t stopping the Trump administration from going through with its plan to kick nearly 700,000 people off food stamps.
Starting April 1, the administration will tighten work requirements for those seeking the help of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Able-bodied people between the ages of 18 and 49 who aren’t raising children will have to work at least 20 hours a week to become eligible for SNAP. That’s a requirement that many states have been able to waive until the Trump administration stepped in.
It doesn’t help that SNAP assistance is generally the only government help these people — whose income is at 92 percent below the poverty line — can get, as they don’t qualify for other programs that provide for the elderly, disabled, or parents, according to CNN. On average, this group earns about $2,250 a year and receives about $165 in monthly SNAP benefits. That’s only about $1.80 per meal, CNN reports, but it can go a long way for those in low-wage jobs or who are underemployed.
Under the new rules, though, nonworking adults will no longer even have access to that $1.80. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-TX) pressed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on the cruelty of the timeline, questioning why it had to be implemented during an economic crisis.
“Really, it’s a cruel rule, taking food out of the mouths of hungry individuals,” she said. “Why can’t we just postpone or delay this at least until this critical moment is over?”
