SNAP Work Requirement Still Not Enforced in 25 States

'It is time for this exemption to end,' said Sen. John Boozman

A sign alerting customers about SNAP food stamps benefits is displayed at a grocery store in New York City on Dec. 5, 2019. Scott Heins/Getty Images

Able-bodied people without dependents must work 20 hours a week or be in job training to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress suspended the work requirement.

Businesses are open again, yet 25 states have not fully reinstated work requirements. Of those, seven states allow work waivers in certain areas of the state. These seven are Colorado, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, and South Dakota.

Eighteen states and territories have kept the work waiver across the entire state. They are Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington.

When the federal public health emergency ends in May, the work requirement will be reinstated. But Republicans on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry want to know why the work requirement is not already in place.

“For nearly three years, SNAP participants have been exempted from work requirements. It is time for this exemption to end and it is time for USDA to get serious about enforcing work requirements. States should no longer be allowed to game the system,” Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), ranking member of the committee, said Thursday in opening remark of a hearing on funding the Farm Bill.

“Good jobs are plentiful. There are more than 11 million jobs open across the economy, equivalent to nearly two job openings for every unemployed person. Approximately 5 million of those job openings are in 25 states and territories that are not enforcing work requirements. This job gap pushes labor costs higher, slows supply chains, delays our economic recovery from the pandemic, and importantly, is a large contributor to the historic inflation facing our nation.”

Work Requirement Burden

Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), joined by fellow Republican Senators, speaks on a proposed Democrat tax plan at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Aug. 4, 2021. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Able-bodied people without dependents make up 10 percent of SNAP recipients, according to hearing testimony.

Stacy Dean, deputy undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was asked several times throughout the hearing why the USDA is allowing states to continue with the work waiver. Congress suspended the work requirement, Dean explained, but the USDA has been working aggressively with states to ensure that they reinstate the law when the work requirement suspension is over.

She hinted that the administration views the work requirement as a burden to some.

“The rule is incredibly complicated,” Dean said. “We often see individuals who should be exempt from it falling prey to it. ... This rule applies to veterans, homeless individuals, and 19-year-olds who have just aged out of foster care and might struggle.”

SNAP is intended to supplement a beneficiary’s monthly grocery budget, Boozman said. It was not created to be the entire monthly grocery budget.

“Why is the Biden administration not promoting work?” Boozman asked. “As study after study proves, work equals dignity. A culture of dependence weakens our communities and our country. SNAP is a valuable program, but it should lead to self-reliance, not generational dependence.”