More than a half-a-million people are set to be thrown off food stamps after the Trump administration on Wednesday approved a new requirement tightening the criteria to qualify for the public assistance program.
The law would ask states to mandate certain work requirements for people seeking to qualify for the benefits in areas deemed in “economic distress.” The rule would apply to only able-bodied adults without dependents.
It is expected to cut the number of people who receive food stamps by more than 600,000 nationwide.
The rule change is expected to save the federal government more than $5 billion, according to the New York Times.
“Government can be a powerful force for good, but government dependency has never been the American dream,” Sonny Perdue, the Department of Agriculture secretary, told the Times. “We need to encourage people by giving them a helping hand but not allowing it to become an indefinitely giving hand.”
The new rule is set to go into effect in April.
