One Million Americans Could Be Dropped From Food Stamps Next Year

[Omaha Steve]

Decreasing unemployment rates could trigger an end to waivers that help provide long-term benefits for those in need.



January 06, 2015 By Willy Blackmore

Willy Blackmore is TakePart’s Food editor.

For the second time in three years, the past policy decisions of Democrats is threatening to limit nutrition assistance for a significant number of Americans. Last November, additional stimulus funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program lapsed ahead of what Congress had initially planned back when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed in 2009. The result was a rare across-the-board drop in benefits, amounting to 21 lost meals per month for a family of four, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

A new report from the group published Monday warns that in 2016, 1 million Americans could lose their benefits after being on SNAP for just three months. The hard limits will be a stark change to the extended periods of time some Americans have remained on food stamps during the Great Recession and long, slow recovery. But the cutoff period, which only applies to those between ages 18 and 50 who are without work and aren’t raising kids, is nothing new. Rather, it’s a return to limits set in the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, which was passed by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. CBPP calls the 36-month cutoff “one of the harshest pieces” of the bill.


Governors’ Revolt Against SNAP Cuts Spreads @ link.

In recent years, state-level waivers were used to lift the limit while unemployment remained high; currently, such waivers cover about 30 percent of the population. But with the job market improving and the national unemployment rate down to 5.8 percent and continuing to drop regionally across the country, CBPP estimates those waivers will be lifted in a handful of states next in 2016.

“Jobs are the best solution to hunger and poverty, and we support efforts to strengthen and expand job training and placement programs for people on SNAP to help them move out of poverty,” Ross Fraser, a spokesperson for Feeding American, said to Al Jazeera America in regard to the report. “Unfortunately, many childless unemployed adults will lose their SNAP benefits due to a lack of jobs or training programs."

FULL story at link.

[workinclasszero]

1. And that will be one million hungry people

who are going to cast possibly the first ballot in their lives for the democratic party in 2016!

That is if the democratic party makes damn sure they know it was republicans that stole the food out of their babies mouths!

All the MSM horseshit about both parties are the same will be out the damn window when the republicans start starving us!

Oh and they are already moving to destroy SSI for millions of disabled people as well.

[pennylane100]

2. I think it would be a helpful plan if we could find out how many of these people did not vote,

or voted republican. I think this information would be useful, not to remind them how they were somewhat responsible for the consequences, but to use this as an example to show those who should be supporting the democratic agenda, and the price they will do so for no doing so.

They in turn, could let their friends who might be in the same situation just how the repugs intend to reward them for their vote.
It sounds like it will be heartbreaking for those who will be affected and they have learned a terrible lesson for trusting the wrong people.