Trump administration will deprive 3,1 million people of food stamp benefits

The Trump administration is again planning to tighten the restriction on the issuance of food stamps, which could exclude 3,1 million from this program, representatives of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.

Фото: Depositphotos

Currently, US state 43 automatically qualifies for food stamp benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, if they receive benefits under another federal program known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families or TANF, according to the USDA.

But the Trump administration wants people who get TANF benefits to go through income and asset checks to determine if they qualify for free SNAP, officials said.

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If the rule is accepted, the federal government will save about $ 2.5 billion per year, excluding people from the SNAP program, according to the USDA.

US President Donald Trump argued that many Americans who are now getting food stamps do not really need them. As an argument, he cites a strong economy and low unemployment. In addition, the president is confident that the rejection of food stamps will save taxpayers up to $ 15 billion.

“Some states are exploiting loopholes that allow people to receive SNAP benefits that they would not otherwise be eligible for,” USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters on a conference call Monday.

SNAP provides free food to approximately 40 for millions of Americans, or 12% of the total US population.

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The current rules allow people to gain access to SNAP benefits for thousands of dollars over two years without going through rigorous compliance checks.

“Unfortunately, automatic eligibility has expanded to allow even millionaires and other non-poor people to qualify for SNAP even if they do not clearly need it,” Lipps said.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in December estimated that innovation could save the federal government $ 8,1 billion from 2019 to 2028 a year, which is lower than the USDA estimate.

In 2016, the CBO said it was worried that it would deprive families of those in difficult financial situations and increase the complexity and time spent checking information about SNAP applications.

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