In December, the Food and Nutrition Service announced a new rule that has the potential to help move millions of able-bodied Americans from welfare to work. The rule cracks down on the waiver abuse that has allowed states to avoid work requirements for childless, able-bodied adults on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps.
In other words, the rule directs states to take advantage of the strong economy and harness work to lift people out of government dependency.
This regulatory change couldn’t come at a better time, given that the country added more than 150,000 jobs in December, outpacing projections. A record 7.1 million positions are open, and that number has been growing in recent years.
Employers are desperate for workers, and have been asking themselves why they can’t find them. The answer isn’t because all of the open jobs require an advanced degree. In fact, government statisticians estimate that three out of four jobs created in the next ten years will require a high school education or less.
America has capable workers who could fill these jobs, but too many are sitting on the sidelines in government dependency. In many cases, the nation’s welfare programs permit and even encourage able-bodied adults to collect benefits without meeting any expectation to work, train, or volunteer.
But the new rule, and other regulatory actions that may be on the horizon, takes good steps in the right direction to reverse this.
Today, there are nearly 4.7 million able-bodied adults dependent on food stamps who do not work at all. The food stamp program is supposed to require childless, able-bodied adults to work, train, or volunteer at least part-time in order to receive benefits, and federal law allows states to waive work requirements for areas with unemployment rates above 10 percent, theoretically allowing for flexibility during times of economic hardships.
But states have exploited that flexibility to waive work requirements for as many able-bodied adults as possible, despite the fact that the unemployment rate has stayed steady at a low 3.7 percent. More than a third of the country still lives in an area where able-bodied adults are exempt from work requirements.
The rule cracks down on this waiver abuse, reducing the likelihood that states will be able to keep able-bodied adults trapped on welfare without work. The rule isn’t perfect, and it doesn’t fix every problem within our outdated and out-of-touch welfare system. But the department should be commended for its commitment to taking these steps forward to promote work for able-bodied adults and for seeking comments on how it can continue the momentum forward.
In its announcement of the rule, the department called for comments on how, or if, it should combine jurisdictions, a reform that would prevent gerrymandering of districts. It’s clear the Trump administration is committed to welfare reform that prioritizes work for able-bodied adults, which is exactly what our welfare system needs, now more than ever.
Experience from states where work requirements have been implemented show that these policies help people in real and lasting ways. Average time on welfare is cut in half, earnings double on average, and people find jobs in more than 600 different industries. These aren’t just fringe benefits — these are life-changing statistics.
The rule takes a great first step in moving us towards a welfare system that promotes work, but there is still more that needs to be done. Though Congress failed to include work-promoting reforms in its final version of the 2018 farm bill, the administration now has an open door to take executive regulatory action to do so. It just needs to walk through it.
Kristina Rasmussen is Vice President of Federal Affairs at the Foundation for Government Accountability.
