Trump is bypassing Congress to enact stricter work requirements for food stamps


On Thursday, the Trump administration unveiled proposed new rules that would make it harder for people without jobs to get food stamps. The proposal was announced by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, and it would bypass Congress, which just passed a farm bill that did not include a House Republican measure to attach new work requirements for food stamp recipients. It would affect about 755,000 people, The Washington Post reports.
The number of able-bodied people with no dependents who use food assistance in some states "is unacceptable to most Americans and belies common sense, particularly when employment opportunities are as plentiful as they currently are," Perdue said on a press call. "This restores the dignity of work to a sizeable segment of our population," and could save the federal government billions of dollars. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal.
Currently, most adult with dependents or disabilities have to work or be in job training if they get food stamps for more than three months over three years, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture can waive those requirements for states with unemployment rates 20 percent above the average. The new rule says states must have an unemployment rate above 7 percent. Since the work requirement was enacted in 1996, every state but Delaware has requested a waiver at some point.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sen. Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, suggested that the farm bill would not have passed "had we not allowed the administration to handle [food stamps] in the way they feel is the best way to handle it." But the committee's top Democrat, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) questioned whether Trump can ramp up work requirements unilaterally. "Congress writes laws, and the administration is required to write rules based on the law," she said. "I do not support unilateral and unjustified changes that would take food away from families."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
5 of the best platonic TV friendships
the week recommends Maintaining boundaries has proven tricky for all but the most committed of buddies on the small screen
-
Why are global postal services cutting off package delivery to the US?
Today's Big Question 'Uncertainty' around new tariff rules halts small-dollar imports
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th test
speed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year