On the eve of the Trump administration’s announcement of a new rule that could eliminate benefits for nearly 700,000 people, I was at an event for a national faith-based hunger charity, surrounded by people who work to help Americans in need. Exhausted and disappointed by this latest assault on the low-income people we serve, we shared our frustration with the administration’s use of the term “able-bodied” to describe who will be affected to obscure what the rule really is: cruelty directed at Americans living in poverty.
The rule, which will take effect in April, makes it more difficult for states, even those that have economically distressed areas where jobs are scarce, to waive a requirement that “able-bodied” adults without dependents work at least 20 hours a week to keep their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (formerly known as food stamps).