South Carolina residents likely won’t feel much of an impact from a proposed nationwide work requirement policy to be eligible for food stamp benefits.
The new rules, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates will force roughly 668,000 to forfeit enrollment in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, were mostly already in place in the Palmetto State.
The crux of the proposed changes affect adults ages 18 to 49 who don’t have dependents and are designated as able-bodied adults. The change will make it more difficult for states to waive a previous requirement that SNAP recipients work a minimum of 20 hours per week to get their benefits. Able-bodied adults are allowed to receive three months worth of benefits in a 36-month time span.
That change, state hunger advocates say, will have unintended consequences. Previously, states were allowed to waive the time frame requirement for when someone could claim benefits in times of economic or natural disaster. The new proposal eliminates that option, which could have a drastic impact in a coastal state regularly impacted by natural disasters.
“The proposed federal rule would impose limits on all states, absolutely. But the biggest issue is it takes away the ability to expand access to food during times of economic or natural disasters,” said Brenda Shaw, chief development officer for the Lowcountry Food Bank.
“We have had a hurricane three years in a row. We had a serious snow storm two years ago,” she added. “The thing for us is being concerned about our ability at the state level to waive those (time) restrictions. This would take away our ability to waive those.”
Marilyn Matheus, a spokeswoman for the S.C. Department of Social Services, said the state doesn’t expect any additional impact to SNAP recipients since it has been enforcing the work rule since April 2016. DSS is in charge of administering SNAP benefits. Matheus did not address whether it was a concern that it would now be more difficult for states to waive the time frame requirement.
Matheus added that only around 2 percent of the state’s SNAP recipients are classified as able-bodied adults without dependents.
A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said Scott supports the work requirements for able-bodied adults.
“Importantly, this rule simply reflects current law and congressional intent regarding work requirements, and does not restrict eligibility any more than the law prescribes,” said Sean Smith, communications director. “Senator Scott will continue his efforts to help folks across South Carolina and the nation achieve their dreams, and works every day to make sure kids growing up in poverty like he did know there is a brighter future ahead.”
Scott’s counterpart in the House, Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., took a much different tone on the impetus behind the proposed rule change.
“This war on the poor will not increase employment. Instead it will drive more people into poverty and make it more difficult for them to remain healthy,” Clyburn said in a statement to The Post and Courier. “While work requirements may sound sensible, it has been shown repeatedly that they don’t work. Congress already rejected similar SNAP work requirements in the 2018 Farm Bill, and now the Trump Administration is bypassing Congressional will.”
The rule change to SNAP benefits is set to take effect April 1.