Congressman Garret Graves has introduced a measure that requires “able-bodied” adults without dependents to either work or provide proof they are searching for a job in order to receive food stamps.
The Courier reports Graves, a Republican, has introduced the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reform Act of 2017. He says the bill aims to fight poverty, support families and promote self-sufficiency while helping stem what he calls a tide of government dependence.
The legislation builds upon the mandatory federal work requirements for SNAP assistance first established in former President Bill Clinton’s 1996 welfare reform package.
The bill requires able-bodied, unemployed adults without dependents who are receiving food stamps to undergo a “supervised job search” for at least eight hours a week. A job search is defined as one that:
- Occurs at an official location where the presence and activity of the recipient can be directly observed, supervised, and monitored.
- Records the recipient’s entry, time onsite and exit from the official job search location in a manner that prevents fraud.
- Requires the recipient to remain and undertake job search activities at the job search center.
- Observes and monitors the quantity of time the recipient engage in a job search at the official location for purposes of compliance.
The bill would require states, which administer the federally funded program, to terminate food stamp benefits from recipients who fail to meet the requirement. States would lose 10% of their federal food stamp money for each quarter they fail to comply.
