The House of Representatives takes up debate on the Farm bill Tuesday, which in its current form cuts $20.5 billion from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps. Twenty-six Democrats took the “food stamp challenge“—feeding themselves for a week on the $31.50 provided by the food stamp program—to highlight and speak out against the proposed cuts.
Those cuts are already estimated to end benefits for about 2 million people who are already part of the program, but some of the amendments proposed by Republicans could make it harder for many more Americans to get access to the assistance they need.
Drug testing for food stamps
Many Republicans have pushed for a drug testing requirement for welfare recipients in recent years, and North Carolina Republican Richard Hudson is the lead co-sponsor on an amendment that would allow all states to create the same requirement for food stamp recipients as well. Fellow Republicans Doug LaMalfa of California and Ted Yoho of Florida also signed onto this amendment. In Florida, programs to drug test welfare recipients ultimately wasted $45-thousand in taxpayer money, because the cost of the testing surpassed the savings it created.
New work requirements for food stamps
Tim Huelskamp of Kansas is the lead sponsor of an amendment that would create additional work requirements for food stamp recipients. Although it creates a new hurdle for recipients, it would ultimately impact no more than about half of all people on the program now. As of 2010 28% of adult participants in the program were employed and another 24% were unemployed and looking for work. In fact, only 1 in 6 families on food stamps in 2010 was a nonworking family without kids or an elderly or disabled family member.
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