Last Friday, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) closed the extended public comment period for their proposal to reform broad-based categorical eligibility for food stamps. The proposal would close a loophole that allowed thousands of Americans who did not qualify for food stamps to be eligible for benefits regardless.

Earlier this year, a recently retired Minnesota man by the name of Rob Undersander and his wife applied for federal benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. After a three-week waiting period, Undersander was astonished to find that he had been granted federal benefits totalling $278 per month. After donating his benefits to charity, Undersander contacted his Congressmen in order to tell them about his peculiar situation.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

On April 10, 2018, President Donald J. Trump signed the Executive Order on Economic Mobility. President Trump’s plan outlines nine “principles of economic mobility” that are bound to lift struggling Americans towards self-sufficiency. Among these principles are boosting employment, promoting stable families, and choosing federalism over top-down programs.

Yesterday, the House Agriculture Committee released its Farm Bill proposal. The Farm Bill is an omnibus bill that needs to be passed every five years or so to address various issues related to American agriculture and the responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The last one was passed in 2014.

Congress created the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to reduce food insecurity among impoverished Americans. At the same time, Congress recognized that welfare programs must foster self-sufficiency. The Trump administration is looking for innovative solutions that improve both goals.

As the economy begins to take off as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the next big thing we're going to see is a need for workers.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reform Act, H.R. 2996, introduced by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.). The bill would establish work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, also known as food stamps.

The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) program which is within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) began originally as a way to supplement food that had been deemed overproduced in the late 1930s. It lasted several years until it was deemed no longer necessary because overproduced goods were being marketed more efficiently while unemployment was decreasing.