By MATTHEW D. ERNST

Missouri Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The USDA is seeking comments on how the agency could promote work among clients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The comment deadline is April 9.

An able-bodied adult without dependents is allowed to collect SNAP payments for three months during a three-year period, according to federal law. There are several exemptions to this standard, including age, fitness for work or having a dependent child.

There are also exceptions made in areas experiencing economic distress, and some entire states have been granted waivers for the work requirements. Those waivers are one of the agency’s concerns.

“Too many states have asked to waive work requirements, abdicating their responsibility to move participants to self-sufficiency,” said USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue.

His comments came in the notification that USDA is seeking comments on the able-bodied adult without dependents provisions. Those interested in commenting can access instructions on commenting at the Food and Nutrition Service page on the Federal Register website, http://bit.ly/2GGLAP6

President Trump’s 2019 budget proposes to limit waivers of the work requirement time limit for able-bodied adult without dependents to counties with a 10 percent unemployment rate over 12 months. Statewide waivers for such adults receiving SNAP benefits increased during the Great Recession, and 32 states and the District of Columbia were granted waivers to the able-bodied adult without dependents work rule for 2014.

In 2017, seven states had statewide waivers. Illinois was the only state in the Farm World region that had a statewide waiver remaining last year.

There is disagreement on whether work requirements encourage SNAP participants to increase work and earnings. Some believe the requirements do encourage recipients to more aggressively seek work. Supporters of work requirements also say they encourage more public confidence in, and support for, SNAP.

“Aid should be given to those who need it, but not to able-bodied adults who refuse to take any steps to support themselves,” stated a January 2018 report by the Heritage Foundation, which cited surveys that showed Americans across party lines broadly support the idea that able-bodied adults should be required to work to receive welfare assistance.

But others are concerned that limiting SNAP benefits for able-bodied adult without dependents increases their financial burden when they are unable to find work. There is also a more fundamental issue at stake, according to some SNAP policy experts: SNAP is not designed to alleviate hunger and is not structured to discourage work.

“For each additional dollar someone works, they lose 24 cents. The SNAP program doesn’t discourage work,” said Craig Gundersen, Soybean Industry Endowed Professor in Agricultural Strategy at the University of Illinois.

Gundersen believes tightening work requirements could actually shift some SNAP recipients toward other programs, like SSI and Medicaid, which may have clear disincentives for work. “It’s not clear these individuals would go out and get jobs if they don’t get SNAP benefits,” he said.

“There is also the issue that many people classified (as able-bodied adult without dependents) may be struggling with mental illness and other challenges for finding employment,” explained Gundersen, who studies SNAP and federal hunger assistance policy.

Present federal legislation allows SNAP participants to fulfill the work requirement when they are enrolled in a SNAP Employment and Training program. In other words, the months that an able-bodied working adult without dependents is in a SNAP employment and training program are not counted against the three-month limit.

However, a USDA Economic Research Service report published in January noted that few states operate the appropriate employment and training programs, “due to the expense of operating a work program for everyone at risk of hitting the three-month time limit.”

Gundersen said that may point to the fact SNAP is not designed to be a work training program. “USDA designed the program mainly to address food security among low income Americans,” he said. “Study after study has shown SNAP is good at that.”

It is unclear how much money would actually be saved by the work requirement changes proposed in Trump’s budget. According to the January USDA report, work incentives can be especially affected if a SNAP participant receives benefits from multiple programs. But the USDA report cited research that said just 2 percent of non-elderly, non-disabled single-parent households participating in multiple programs were likely to be impacted if work requirements were added.

Another issue that has emerged as discussions of changes to SNAP is the outsized impact SNAP has in rural America. SNAP participation rates of 20 percent of the population or greater occurs in 23 percent of rural counties, compared to 11 percent of urban counties, according to an article published by the American Farm Bureau Federation last year.

“Under a smaller SNAP, rural households may find it more financially difficult to access the high-quality and safe agricultural commodities produced by their neighboring farmers and ranchers,” stated the article, which highlighted a study conducted by the Food Research and Action Center.