House Republicans unveiled legislation on Thursday that would significantly reform the nation’s food stamp program by requiring able-bodied recipients to work or receive job training in exchange for benefits.
The changes are included in the 2018 Agriculture and Nutrition Act, an $844 billion measure authorizing farm programs and policy, as well as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program otherwise known as food stamps.
Republicans said the changes to food stamps are centered on moving people off welfare and into the workforce.
“We believe that breaking this poverty cycle is really important,” House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway, R-Texas, said Thursday.
Democrats are already threatening to vote against the measure because of the work requirements, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has urged fellow Democrats to oppose it.
The vast majority of the bill’s cost is dedicated to food stamps.
In the 2014 Farm legislation, SNAP’s 10-year cost was $756 billion, or 80 percent of the entire $956 billion bill. Conaway has authored changes to the SNAP program bill that he said are aimed at getting able-bodied recipients to return to the workforce.
The federal government currently requires 20 hours of work for able-bodied food stamp recipients, but a third of the states waive the requirement. Republicans aides say the waivers are achieved in party by states creating software that manipulates unemployment data so fewer people are required to work.
The GOP’s new bill would reform the waiver process so more able-bodied recipients would be required to receive training or go to work. Recipients aged 18-59 would have to either work 20 hours per week or use the time in a work or employment training program.
Those who are pregnant, parenting a child under 6 or deemed physically or mentally unfit would be exempted, and states would have two years to transition into the program, lawmakers said.
Speaker Paul Ryan enthusiastically supports the measure, which he said incorporates the type of welfare reform featured in his “Better Way” agenda. He told the Washington the Examiner the House would take up the measure “soon” and he expects it to pass despite what will likely be unified opposition from Democrats.
Conaway said Thursday the bill is “a work in progress” that could be amended. Some GOP members of the Agriculture Committee want to add a drug testing requirement for food stamp beneficiaries, for example.
Conaway said the panel will vote on the measure next week and the timing for a floor vote will hinge on finding enough votes to pass it. Republicans, particularly in an election year, may be reluctant to vote for entitlement cuts.
“I believe the SNAP policy will stand on its own,” Conaway said. “I believe the wisdom of it will draw in more and more people.”
Democrats told the Washington Examiner they support the rest of the bill, which addresses dozens of issues impacting the nation’s farming economy such as crop insurance, livestock health, conservation, trade, regulatory reform, rural development and even opioid addiction.
Conaway said the bills saves $112 billion over the 2014 bill.
The bill spends $1 billion on job programs to get food stamp recipients back into the work force. Democrats are opposed to spending $1 billion on the training programs, which they have argued already exist.
Republicans said the low unemployment rates and a growing economy underscore the need for a new work requirement and training programs for people capable of working.
“We simply want to bridge that gap with federal resources,” Conaway said.
