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Social Programs

Comparing Proposals to Strengthen Food Stamp Work Requirements for Able-Bodied Adults

Social Programs One Pager PublicationMay 1, 2024 By Matthew Dickerson

Ages Covered by

Work Requirement

Adults with

Children Covered?

Geographic Waivers

Discretionary Exemptions Other Provisions
Current Law, as amended by Fiscal Responsibility Act Before FRA: 18 to 49. FY 2023: 18 to 50. FY 2024: 18 to 52. FY 2025 - 2030: 18 to 54. FY 2031 and After: 18 to 49. No. All parents in household with children exempt.

10% or higher; or

“Area” that “does nothave a sufficient number of jobs to provide employment for the individuals.”

Regulations define as: 20% above nationalaverage for a recent 24-month period or a Labor

Surplus Area.

8%. Limits rollover of exemptions. Other exceptions from work requirements through FY 2030: Homeless, Veterans, and Former foster children under age 24.
H.R. 1550/S. 1062 - Jobs and Opportunities for SNAP Act (Rep. Jake LaTurner / Sen. John Kennedy) 18-64 Parent in a householdof child under 7 exempt. Eliminated. 3%. Limits rollover. Eliminates FRA exemptions for homelessness, veterans, and formerfoster care.
H.R. 1581 - America Works Act of 2023 (Rep. Dusty Johnson) 18 - 64 Parent in a householdof child under 7 exempt. Areas 10% or higher. 8% (unchanged). Limits rollover.

Eliminates FRA exemptions for homelessness, veterans, and

former foster care.

H.R. 4969 - Ending the Cycle of Dependency Act of 2023 (Rep. Eric Burlison) 18 - 64 Parents in a householdof child under 6 exempt. Eliminated. Eliminated.

Enacts a lifetime benefit limit of no more than 60 months for able- bodiedadults (other than those with children under 6).

Eliminates FRA exemptions for homelessness, veterans, and formerfoster care.

Modifications to work registration requirement: 1) expands applicability to age 64; and 2) clarifies that only a primary caretaker of a dependent child may qualify for

exemption.

S. 1188 - SNAP Reform and Upward Mobility Act of 2023 (Sen. Mike Lee) 18 - 63 Parents subjected to work requirement (intends to exempt parents withchild 6 and under) Sets combined requirement for both spouses of a marriedcouple with a child overage 6 at 20 hours per week. 10% or higher. Redefines “area” as county or equivalent. Requires county to be ina labor market area with unemployment rate above 10%. 5%.

Phases in 50% state matching requirement for benefits.

Ends broad-based categorical eligibilityloophole.

Expands work registration requirement applicability to age 64.

Requires food eligiblefor purchase be deemed "essential" by USDA.

Anti-fraud provisions.

Modifies poverty data reporting.

USDA Rule, finalized but vacated 2019 (Trump Administration) No change. 18 - 49 No change. All parents in household with children exempt.

Adopts Labor Market Areas to restrictarbitrary combining of “areas.”

6% unemployment floor.

Limits duration of waiver to 1 year.

Limits carryover to equal to one year’s worth.
Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, as passed by the House, 115thCongress (Rep. Michael Conaway) 18 - 59 Parent in a householdof child under six exempt.

10% or higher; or

In a state receiving extended, temporary, or emergency unemployment; or

“Designated as a Labor Surplus Area;” or

Areas 20% higher than national average, with a6% minimum.

No combining jurisdictions, except Labor Market Areas.

15%. After 2026: 12% of covered individuals in 2019. Many other provisions.
Sources: Current Law: 7 USC 2015. Jobs and Opportunities for SNAP Act: H.R. 1550 and S. 1062, 118th Congress, 1st Session, https://laturner.house.gov/media/press- releases/rep-laturner-introduces-medicaid-snap-work-requirements-legislation (accessed February 3, 2024). America Works Act of 2023: H.R. 1581, 118th Congress, 1st Session, https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press- releases/johnson-leads-work-requirements-fight-us-house (accessed February 3, 2024). Ending the Cycle of Dependency Act of 2023: H.R. 4969 118th Congress, 1st Session, https://burlison.house.gov/media/press- releases/burlison-and-brecheen-introduce-america-works-welfare-reform-package (accessed February 3, 2024). SNAP Reform and Upward Mobility Act of 2023: S. 1188, 118th Congress, 1st Session, https://www.lee.senate.gov/2023/4/lee- introduces-snap-reform-and-upward-mobility-act (accessed February 3, 2024). Trump Administration Rule: U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Requirements for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents," Federal Register, 84 FR 66782, 66782-66812, December 5, 2019, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/12/05/2019-26044/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program- requirements-for-able-bodied-adults-without-dependents (accessed January 25, 2024). Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018: H.R. 2, 115th Congress, 2nd Session, https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house- bill/2/text/eh(accessed February 16, 2024).

Author

Matthew D. Dickerson

Matthew D. Dickerson

Director of Budget Policy

Matthew D. Dickerson is Director of Budget Policy at the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC). Dickerson is recognized as an expert on fiscal policy issues, including the budget, appropriations, and entitlement reform. His articles have been featured in the Wall Street Journal , the Miami Herald , National Review , the Sacramento Bee , the Washington Times , the Baltimore Sun , The Hill , the Washington Examiner , and other outlets. Prior to joining EPIC, Dickerson served as Senior Policy Advisor on the staff of the House Budget Committee, where he helped lead development of the fiscal year 2024 budget resolution. He has a dozen years of experience on Capitol Hill, including as a senior staffer with the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the caucus of conservatives in the House of Representatives. Under four different RSC chairmen, Dickerson held senior level roles including Policy Director and Senior Policy Staff. Additionally, he served as Legislative Director and other policy positions for the late Congressman C.W. Bill Young (R-FL), a former Chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. During his tenure at The Heritage Foundation, Dickerson was Director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget. In this capacity, he oversaw a team of budget analysts and economists researching diverse subjects including spending, entitlements, budget process, tax, labor, pensions, and infrastructure issues. He has also been a Policy Manager at Americans for Prosperity, where he supervised a team of fellows and analysts covering a variety of federal and state policy issues. Dickerson is a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Virginia and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government and History.

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