With approximately 12% of the American population on food stamps, misuse of the welfare system is rampant in the United States.
For instance, take the case of Kaneshia Francis, a former correctional officer who was sent to jail for forging documents so that she could take advantage of the Louisiana food stamp program!
According to WBRZ,
Detectives later arrested Francis for allegedly forging documents and providing false information in an attempt to fraudulently get food stamp benefits.
Francis was booked into the St. Martin Parish Correctional Center. She was also fired.
Cases like these are why President Trump is now seeking to combat food stamp fraud.
Especially since a huge number of Americans believe the economy is stronger and better underneath his administration, it’s highly questionable why such a huge chunk of our nation’s population are using their state’s food stamp programs.
To get at the bottom and rectify things, President Trump just announced a plan to further restrict those eligible for receiving food stamps – a plan which would cut $3.1 million from using them!
Take a look at news of the president’s plan that hit Twitter:
Reuters has more details on the proposed plan:
The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed a rule to tighten food stamp eligibility that would cut about 3.1 million people from the program, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said, drawing ire from Democratic senators and advocacy groups.
The administration has been rolling out rule changes related to the food stamps, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), after efforts to pass new restrictions on it were blocked by Congress last year. The program provides free food to some 40 million Americans, or about 12 percent of the total U.S. population.
The USDA billed Tuesday’s move as a way to save money and help eliminate what it sees as the widespread abuse of the program. But Democrats and advocacy groups criticized it as an attack on the nation’s poorest.
“This rule would take food away from families, prevent children from getting school meals, and make it harder for states to administer food assistance,” said Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
Currently, 43 U.S. states allow residents to become eligible for food stamps automatically through SNAP, or if they receive benefits from another federal program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, according to the USDA.
The agency wants to change that by requiring people who receive TANF benefits to pass a review of their income and assets to determine whether they are also eligible for free food from SNAP, officials said.
If enacted, the rule would save the federal government about $2.5 billion a year by removing 3.1 million people from SNAP, according to the USDA. Advocacy group First Focus on Children said 7.4% of households with children participating in SNAP would lose their access to food stamps.
The Wall Street Journal also gave the following information on what Trump's proposing:
he Trump administration is proposing changes to the food-stamp program that would disqualify millions of people with low incomes from nutritional assistance.
A rule unveiled on Tuesday would tighten eligibility requirements for low-income households that use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and separate programs such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF.
SNAP covered nearly 40 million people in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program.
What benefits or drawbacks to low-income families could you see from the proposed changes by the Trump administration? Join the conversation below.
Some 3.1 million SNAP participants are expected to be automatically eligible for food stamps next year because they already receive benefits from programs like TANF, USDA said.
Under the new rule, which will be subject to a 60-day public-comment period before USDA can enact it, households would only be eligible for nutritional assistanceif they receive cash or other benefits worth at least $50 a month from the TANF program for six months or more.
It is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to cut the number of people receiving federal benefits and to encourage them to seek work. Last year, debate over tougher work requirements for food-stamp recipients threatened to sink the farm bill, a $867 billion piece of legislation that funds subsidies and crop insurance for farmers and covers SNAP.
USDA said Tuesday’s proposed rule would save billions of dollars, closing a loophole that extends food-stamp benefits to those who don’t need them.
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