The Trump administration is highly selective in how it applies the standard of “self-sufficiency” for programs. To move food stamp beneficiaries toward that goal in all states, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue laid out a plan to strengthen work requirements for federal beneficiaries by April 2020.
The new rule makes it more difficult for states, no matter if they have areas of economic distress, to waive a requirement that able-bodied adults work at least 20 hours a week to maintain their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamp) benefits. The new measure could eliminate benefits for nearly 700,000 adults (it would not affect food stamp recipients with dependents, those over age 50, those with a disability or pregnant women).