Roughly 750,000 more working-age U.S. adults must fulfill work requirements to receive taxpayer-funded food stamps due to the recently passed debt ceiling bill — Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.
Out of the national total, some 44,000 Texans will have to work at least 20 hours a week to qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The only states with more people affected are New York with 45,000, Illinois with 47,000, and California with 118,000. Florida matches Texas with an estimated 44,000.
The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 passed the House a little more than a month ago by a margin of 314-117, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. The Senate passed it 63-36, and President Joe Biden signed the legislation on June 3.
Some of the opposition to a debt ceiling agreement was led by those who disagreed with the changes being made to taxpayer-funded benefits like SNAP and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Rep. Jesús Garcia (D-IL) explained, “I won’t vote for a bill that makes it harder for my constituents to access programs like SNAP and TANF.”
During the debt ceiling negotiations, changes were made to SNAP eligibility requirements that increased the age cap for the part-time work requirement from 49 to 54 for those who do not have a dependent living with them or a disability.
To fulfill the work requirements, new benefit recipients will have to keep a part-time job where they spend at least 20 hours a week in gainful employment.
Despite the increased range of work requirements, the debt ceiling negotiations ended up making SNAP a more expensive program for American taxpayers due to changes that now exempt other categories of people from work requirements. Earlier in 2023, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the legislation would increase the program’s cost by $2.1 billion.
Although the deal increased the age range for the work requirement, it also increased the number of people exempt from working, such as “people experiencing homelessness, veterans, and people ages 18 to 24 who were in foster care when they turned 18.”
At the same time, however, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill last month to ease certain barriers keeping people from getting food through SNAP due to the value of their vehicles.
The changes to SNAP and TANF benefits take effect on September 1, 2023, at which point the age range will be expanded to 18-50. A month later, on October 1, 2023, the range will be expanded to 18-52. Then on October 1, 2024, the 18-54 range will go into effect.
