Proposed work requirements would cover about 12 million people according to FGA's data. There are approximately seven-and-a-half million SNAP recipients already working, meaning at least an additional four-and-a-half million who currently do not work would find themselves responsible for working, finding work, or taking advantage of federally funded education and training programs.
FGA's own estimates, offered to the Free Beacon, in fact peg the number higher, adding 7.8 million people to the workforce with new work requirements. This discrepancy is due to FGA's finding that not all able-bodied individuals enrolled in SNAP and working would be subject to the new work requirements. FGA's estimate deviates from the one given to the Free Beacon by experts on the House agriculture committee, who pinned the final total at between 5.5 and six million people.
These work requirements are part of a major overhaul of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program‐often referred to as "food stamps"‐included in the most recent House agricultural bill.
Under current law, only a restricted group of SNAP recipients, about 8.8 percent, are expected to actively work or look for work. Under the proposed revision, any individual who is a) between the ages of 18 and 59, b) neither mentally nor physically disabled, and c) is not responsible for a child age six or under, would be obligated to spend 20 hours a week working, seeking work, or training.