Congress Should Strengthen Work Requirements for Welfare Beneficiaries
PRESS RELEASE
August 22, 2018
Washington, DC
Republicans, including President Trump, have long called for strong welfare reform, including work requirements. As the House and Senate work through the conference negotiations on the 2018 Farm Bill, we urge conferees to maintain a policy of conditioning benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, to limited work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs).
According to the Heritage Foundation, the ABAWD caseload for SNAP benefits has more than doubled over the past decade, rising from 1.9 million in 2008 to 4.2 million today. Spending on the program has also doubled in the last decade to approximately $73 billion annually.
Though limited work requirements exist in current law, the amount of state waivers in place has rendered them effectively meaningless. Given this, as well as the fiscal and policy benefits associated with work requirements for ABAWDs, we urge conferees to give this policy due consideration.
Previous work requirement initiatives, specifically those added to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, have been successful at expediting the return of assistance recipients to the workforce, and removing incentives that discourage individuals from seeking full-time employment. According to the National Taxpayers Union, these reforms have been associated with higher incomes, declining child poverty, and an increased number of single women in the workforce.
Moreover, in places where these policies have been tried, they have succeeded. In July 2014, Maine announced it would no longer grant waivers from work requirements for ABAWDs. In a few months, Maine’s ABAWD caseload dropped 80 percent, with many individuals choosing to be removed from the SNAP rolls rather than participate in work programs.
According to analysis by the Heritage Foundation, policies similar to Maine’s could save taxpayers nearly $10 billion per year. Not only is this sound fiscal policy, it encourages individuals to take ownership of their own futures – the first step toward a successful welfare-to-work outcome. Americans understand this. In 2012, a Rasmussen poll found that 83 percent of American adults supported work requirements in exchange for welfare benefits.
Congress has a chance to make significant reforms to our welfare system that have a positive fiscal impact, while helping individuals make meaningful progress toward independence. We urge the Farm Bill conferees to include sound policy of work requirements for SNAP benefits.
The Honorable Edwin Meese III
Former Attorney General
President Ronald Reagan
The Honorable Bob McEwen
U.S. House of Representatives
Former Member, Ohio
William L. Walton
Chairman
CNP Action, Inc.
The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.
Former Chief Domestic Advisor
President Ronald Reagan
Ed Corrigan
Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project & Former Executive Director, Senate Steering Committee
Rachel Bovard
Former Policy Director
Senate Steering Committee
David Bozell
President
ForAmerica
The Honorable Colin A. Hanna
President
Let Freedom Ring, Inc.
Jenny Beth Martin
Chairman
Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund
The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell
Chairman
Constitutional Congress, Inc.
Rebecca Hagelin
Secretary
Council for National Policy
Sherri R. Martin
Executive Vice President
The Martin Organization, Inc.
Shawn A. Mitchell
Former National Chaplain
National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA)
Evelio Silvera
Campaign for the American Future
Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
James R. Waters
CEO, Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions
Bob Adams
President
Revive America PAC
Anne Schlafly Cori
Chairman
Eagle Forum
William Shaker
Exective
Washington Marketing Group
E.C. Sykes
Managing Director
Aslan Ventures
Peter J. Thomas
Chairman
The Consernative Caucus
Lewis K. Uhler
President
National Tax Limitation Committee
Susan A. Carleson
Chairman & CEO
American Civil Rights Union
David N. Bossie
President
Citizens United
Caroline C. Lewis
Owner
Percipio Communications
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Melvin Adams
Past President
Renewanation
Steve Berger
Pastor
Grace Chapel
Robert Alt
President & CEO
The Buckeye Institute
Marcia G. Taylor
CEO
Bennett Int. Group, LLC.
Darrel W. Johnson
Owner
Attic Corporation
The Honorable Tim Echols
Commissioner
Georgia Public Service Commission
Sal Russo
Co-Founder and Chief Strategist
Tea Party Express
The Honorable Mike Spence
Founding President
Conservative Republicans of California
Peggy Dau
Activist for persecuted Christians
Iran Alive
Dr. Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D.
Founder and CEO, CorsiNation.com
JRC Publishing LLC
Dr. Richard Rounsavelle
Trustee
Media Research Center
Kayla Moore
President
Foundation for Moral Law
The Honorable Penny Pullen
Former Representative
Illinois General Assembly
The Honorable Mike Hill
Former Member
Florida State House
William W. Pascoe, III
Board Member
Tea Party Patriots Action
The Honorable Belden Bell
CoChair-Legacy Society
The Heritage Foundation
Saulius ‘Saul’ Anuzis
President
60 Plus Association
Gregory Quinlan
Founder
The Center for Garden State Families
Mrs. Lisa Calvert
Christian Speaker
Rabon-Calvert Interests
Suzanne Hudgens
Homemaker
Tea Party Activist
Alfred S. Regnery
Chairman, Conservative Action Project
Chairman, Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund
Tim Chapman
President
Heritage Action for America
Adam Brandon
President
FreedomWorks
The Honorable Jim DeMint
U.S. Senate
Former Member, South Carolina
Wesley Denton
Former Communications Director
Senator Jim DeMint (SC)
Cleta Mitchell, Esq.
Partner
Foley & Lardner LLP
The Honorable David McIntosh
President
Club for Growth
The Honorable Tony Perkins
President, Family Research Council
President, Council for National Policy
The Honorable Ken Cuccinelli
President
Senate Conservatives Fund
L. Brent Bozell, III
Founder and President
Media Research Center
Rod D. Martin
Founder and CEO
The Martin Organization, Inc.
Haley E. Martin
President
The Martin Foundation
Jerry Melvin
Former Dean
Florida House of Representatives
Tom Giovanetti
President
Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI)
Dr. Mitch Pearlstein
Founder & Senior Fellow
Center of the American Experiment
The Honorable Charles J. Cooper
Former Assistant Attorney General, President Ronald Reagan
Cooper & Kirk PLLC
Richard D. Hayes
Partner
Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant KLP
Tim LeFever
Chairman
Capitol Resource Institute
The Honorable Tim Huelskamp, Ph.D.
President
The Heartland Institute
Kim Bengard
Business Owner
It Takes A Family Foundation
The Honorable James C. Miller III
Former Budget Director
Reagan Alumni
The Honorable Morton Blackwell
Chairman
The Weyrich Lunch
The Honorable Tom DeLay
Former Majority Leader
U.S.House of Representatives
Allen Hebert
Chairman
American-Chinese Fellowship of Houston
Roxanne Phillips
Member, Executive Committee
Council for National Policy
Chad Connelly
President
Faith Wins
Dan Weber
President, Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC)
Floyd Brown
Chairman
Western Center for Journalism
Lee Beaman
CEO
Beaman Automotive
Christopher Malagisi
Editor in Chief
Conservative Book Club
Col. Francis X De Luca USMC(Ret)
President Emeritus
Civitas Institute
Michelle Easton
President, Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women
Robert K. Fischer
Meeting Coordinator
Conservatives of Faith
Charlie Copeland
President
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
Willes K. Lee
President, National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Republicans, including President Trump, have long called for strong welfare reform, including work requirements. As the House and Senate work through the conference negotiations on the 2018 Farm Bill, we urge conferees to maintain a policy of conditioning benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, to limited work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs).