Press Releases

In April, the United States unemployment rate reached 3.9% for the first time since 2000. This is a milestone for the American people and demonstrates that comprehensive tax reform and regulatory relief are working. As the economy continues to grow and the number of available jobs rises, we need every able-bodied American to come to work.

Unfortunately, in too many cases our broken federal welfare programs have trapped our neighbors in the cycle of generational poverty, separating them from the dignity of work and preventing them from moving up the socioeconomic ladder. This is morally wrong. And it also means that we have American jobs in desperate need of American workers.

To solve this imbalance, we must improve our safety net programs to eliminate the trap of government dependence and restore the dignity of work for all able-bodied Americans.

That’s why the House is bringing a bill to the floor this week that includes critical improvements to improve work opportunities in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which currently serves over 42 million Americans. As Americans, it is our responsibility to help our friends and neighbors who have temporarily fallen on hard times to get back on their feet, not make them dependent on government assistance. H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, would make changes to SNAP to help our fellow Americans find the training and employment opportunities they need to join the workforce.

Our legislation would create a streamlined, simplified work requirement for able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 59. This would require able-bodied SNAP recipients to work or participate in a work or SNAP education and training program for 20 hours a week, allowing those who are reliant on SNAP benefits to get back into the workforce without pulling the rug out from under them.

Every qualifying SNAP recipient would be guaranteed a spot in a SNAP education and training program, ensuring no one would involuntarily lose their SNAP benefits. Those who opted not to work or participate in one of these programs would be voluntarily removing themselves from SNAP eligibility.

These changes would not impact anyone who was the caretaker of a child under 6, pregnant or mentally or physically disabled, safeguarding their access to this critical support and ensuring SNAP is there for the vulnerable populations it was designed to assist.

Some claim that these new requirements already exist, but there are currently loopholes in program requirements that have sidelined nearly two out of three able-bodied adults from the workforce, keeping two out of five able-bodied SNAP recipients in the program for at least eight years.

It is wrong to rob Americans of the dignity of work, but that is what our current safety net program has been doing for decades. We can do better than that. We can provide a safety net for Americans in need that provides a path to a better life and the American dream. The Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 is a pivotal opportunity to impact SNAP and help all Americans get off the bench and back in the game.