Democrats are deeply conflicted about the food aid requirements that President Joe Biden negotiated as part of the debt ceiling deal, fearing damage has been done to safety net programs that will be difficult to unravel in the years ahead as Republicans demand further cuts.
Bargaining over toughening work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, became the focal point for the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., up until the end. Negotiators from both sides made clear, publicly and privately, that it was the biggest area of disagreement and almost led to the talks breaking down several times.
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In the end, Democrats warily accepted new requirements for some able-bodied recipients in exchange for food aid. Republicans agreed to drop some work requirements for veterans, homeless people and others.
The result of the tense back-and-forth was a deal that played to both sides, but one that many Democrats agonized over as they weighed whether to vote for package this past week. Many struggled to square cutting access to food for marginalized communities with an outcome that allowed the United States to avoid defaulting on its debt
含羞草研究社淚n order for this country to not default on its bills, we then turned and made our most vulnerable communities default,含羞草研究社� said Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. Years before she came to Congress, Bush lived in a car with her then-husband and two young children after the family had been evicted from their rental home.
The federal aid program provides monthly funds 含羞草研究社� sometimes as little as $6 a day 含羞草研究社� to allow low-income individuals and families to buy groceries. It is the largest program in the country focused on fighting hunger, with 41 million people using benefits last year alone to purchase food, according to the Department of Agriculture含羞草研究社檚 Food and Nutrition Service, which administers the program.
By 2025, new requirements will apply to able-bodied adults from age 49 to 54 without dependents 含羞草研究社� an increase of five years. Those individuals will be required to work or attend training programs for at least 80 hours a month if they want to receive more than three months of SNAP benefits within a three-year period.
Republicans have tried for decades to expand work requirements for these government assistance programs, arguing they result in more people returning to the workforce, despite several studies that have found they have little impact on employment.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e going to return these programs to being a life vest, not a lifestyle. A hand up, not a handout and that has always been the American way,含羞草研究社� Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, the vice chair of the House Republican conference, told reporters.
The White House countered that Republican proposition by getting GOP lawmakers to waive the work requirements for new groups 含羞草研究社� veterans, individuals who are homeless or facing housing instability and youth aging out of foster care 含羞草研究社� to balance out the number of people who would now be facing these new restrictions.
The end result could be more people receiving SNAP benefits overall. An estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released Tuesday said that the changes in the debt ceiling package would add almost 80,000 people to the rolls of SNAP in an average month.
But the trade-off of seemingly helping some groups while hurting others still left the left flank of the Democratic Party 含羞草研究社� lawmakers who have supported Biden and helped pass his agenda for the first two years of his term 含羞草研究社� frustrated by the outcome. That was especially the case as advocates, including the nonpartisan National Alliance to End Homelessness, warned of a disturbing trend across the country of an increase in the number of older adults who are becoming homeless, some for the first time.
含羞草研究社淲hat we should not be playing is oppression Olympics,含羞草研究社� Bush said. 含羞草研究社淟ike which one gets to hurt today? Which one gets to get to that finish line to hurt today? That含羞草研究社檚 not where we should be as a society.含羞草研究社�
Bush, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, voted 含羞草研究社渘o含羞草研究社� on the debt limit deal on Wednesday night after she spent days hearing from advocate groups and constituents on the issue.
含羞草研究社淚 think it含羞草研究社檚 important that (Biden) understands that it含羞草研究社檚 good for us to have a strong, no vote because this isn含羞草研究社檛 a deal that he would have made if we hadn含羞草研究社檛 been held hostage,含羞草研究社� Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, chair of the Progressive Caucus, told The Associated Press this past week.
They weren含羞草研究社檛 alone. Several dozen Democrats in the House and a handful in the Senate voted against the compromise, arguing that the bill allowed for Republican hostage-taking and could open the door for future cuts to these government programs in the next several months.
含羞草研究社淚 did not agree to these SNAP restrictions, and I won含羞草研究社檛 give Republicans an opening to try and take food from more food insecure Americans in Farm Bill negotiations later this year,含羞草研究社� Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said in a statement.
The White House and Democrats who ended up supporting the negotiated deal said they believe the issue of work requirements and risk posed by Republicans have been put to bed.
含羞草研究社淭he most important thing to me is the fact that this closes the door on that debate,含羞草研究社� said Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, who leads the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee and has been a longtime champion and defender of the SNAP program. 含羞草研究社淲e are not going to bring it up again in the farm bill. This is not something that含羞草研究社檚 going to be renegotiated. It含羞草研究社檚 done.含羞草研究社�
But advocates warn that could change because the debt limit bill was the most substantial change of the work rules for food aid and other government assistance programs since they were put into place in the 1996 welfare overhaul.
Some of the most conservative Republicans in Congress 含羞草研究社� part of the right flank whom McCarthy had to pacify to become speaker 含羞草研究社� have criticized the plan for being 含羞草研究社渨eak含羞草研究社� and are itching to go even further to clamp down on these programs.
含羞草研究社淚n this bill, we have temporary work requirements, but we含羞草研究社檝e added permanent new exceptions,含羞草研究社� said Texas Rep. Keith Self, a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus that overwhelmingly rejected the bill. 含羞草研究社淭hat, ladies and gentlemen, is a sleight of hand.含羞草研究社�
Farnoush Amiri, The Associated Press
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