WASHINGTON, D.C. – In case you missed it, a recent report from the Columbus Dispatch found that nearly 20,000 poor Ohioans are expected to lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, as part of the Trump Administration’s rule that will go into effect on April 1. According to the report, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services released the estimate, which includes the number of adults receiving benefits, who would be disqualified as a result of the rule.
“This rule is mean-spirited and does nothing to put people back to work. These bureaucratic hoops will make it harder for thousands of Ohioans to put food on the table,” said Brown. “If President Trump and Republicans really want to save taxpayer dollars, they should roll back their tax bill giveaways to billionaires and corporations.”
In October, during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, Brown pressed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky to withdraw a similar proposed rule to eliminate categorical eligibility, which would take food assistance away from millions of children, working families, and seniors currently participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Congress explicitly rejected draconian cuts to SNAP in the 2018 Farm Bill, which passed with a bipartisan vote and was signed into law by President Trump. Under this new rule, an estimated 61,000 households in Ohio would lose access to this important program.
An October USDA report found that 1,000,000 children will lose eligibility for free or reduced school lunch.
The Columbus Dispatch story can be found here and below.
Columbus Dispatch: 20,000 poor Ohioans to lose food stamps under new rules from Trump administration
By: Catherine Candisky
January 13, 2019
Nearly 20,000 poor Ohioans are expected to lose food stamp benefits as federal regulators impose stricter work requirements on able-bodied adults.
The estimate of disqualified adults was released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services in response to the announcement of eligibility changes by President Donald Trump’s administration beginning April 1.
Under the plan, fewer counties will be exempt from three-month limits on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, because of higher unemployment rates.
Current law restricts able-bodied adults without dependents to three months of benefits over three years unless they are working, or attending education or job-training programs for at least 80 hours a month.
However, states have been able to seek waivers from the requirement in counties with higher unemployment rates, which presumably means it’s harder to find a job. In Ohio, 42 of the state’s 88 counties are now covered by waivers.
Under the new rule, a county’s unemployment rate for the past 24 months must exceed 6%. That leaves only 13 counties eligible, most in Appalachia, and means of the 23,000 able-bodied adults currently exempt, only 3,700 will continue receiving benefits.
Based on the changes, state officials submitted waiver requests for the 13 counties: Adams, Coshocton, Gallia, Jackson, Jefferson, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Ottawa, Pike, Scioto, and Vinton.
Among those losing their exempt status in central Ohio are Crawford, Richland, and Ross counties.