Lisa Desjardins:
It’s significant.
Now, the focus here is on the most stringent work requirement under SNAP, and that is for able-bodied people right now who don’t have dependents. It’s 80 hours a month. That can be work or volunteering. So let’s look at how they’re expanding it, because the age is what has been expanding in this requirement.
In 2022, this requirement was for people up to age 49, but then it changed so that currently it is required of people up to age 54. House Republicans would expand it again by more so that everyone up to age 64 under this program would be required to meet those 80 hours a month.
It also would change for people with children. Right now, if you have a child, you are not required to meet this 80 hours of work. But the House plan would require you to do it if you have a child who is 7 years old or more. Also mentioning, if you’re a married couple, only one person in the marriage has to do the work requirement. So, if you’re a single parent, you have to do that, and you’re also single parenting.
All right, so what does that mean overall, the numbers? Let’s take a look. The Congressional Budget Office says these work requirements would save about $100 billion, and that’s largely because more than three million people would be out of the program as a result. Most of them are adults without children, and states would not be able to create waivers to keep them in.
Now, even though these are adults that are coming off of the program, CBO believes, as an indirect effect, something like 400,000 kids would lose school lunches as well, though conservatives question that.
