Debt ceiling negotiations resulted in significant modifications to the nation's spending and programs, including work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The deal reached by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over the weekend would push age requirements from able-bodied adults beginning at 18 years old and under 50 years old to able-bodied adults under 54 years old. The time frame of working at least 20 hours a week, or 80 hours a month, continues to apply. Otherwise, recipients will receive benefits for only three months every three years.
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The Department of Agriculture must also make public the applications that states submit to waive work requirements for areas with high employment under the new deal. It also reduces the share of exemptions from 12% of total beneficiaries to 8%.
One positive side to the debt ceiling bill involved a compromise for social welfare programs: Despite raising the work requirements for SNAP benefits and cash welfare, it does not alter requirements for Medicaid, a red line drawn by Biden and the Democrats early on.
Also, veterans, homeless people, and young adults transitioning out of the foster care system would have expanded access to food stamps under the new deal. They would also be exempt from the work requirements. The law presently states that only those with a physical or mental disability, those living with children, or pregnant people are exempt.
Recipients of food stamps receive an estimated $169 in monthly benefits on average, according to the Department of Agriculture. Increasing the age for work requirements is likely to reduce the number of food stamp recipients.
The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities calculated that 900,000 people in the United States aged 50 to 55 were at risk of losing SNAP, prior to the new deal moving the GOP's target age requirement down from 56 years of age. The Congressional Budget Office had estimated that about 275,000 people would have been pushed off food stamps and 19,000 would have seen benefits reduced under the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023.
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SNAP benefits are calculated based on household income and size. The recipient's household income generally must be at or below 130% of the poverty line. In fiscal 2023, the poverty line used to calculate SNAP benefits is $1,920 a month.
An average monthly SNAP benefit for a household of three is $577, with a maximum of $740. An average payment for a household of eight is $1,150, with a maximum of $1,691. Any household higher than eight can be calculated by adding a maximum of $211 per additional person.