OPINION:
“The culture of welfare must be replaced with the culture of work. The culture of dependence must be replaced with the culture of self-sufficiency and personal responsibility.”
That statement captures a truth that should unite us across party lines. Sen. Joseph R. Biden said these words in 1996 when Congress passed a moderate work requirement for able-bodied adults in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Work is the surest pathway out of poverty, and government assistance programs must reflect that reality. Yet SNAP too often encourages long-term dependence rather than long-term success.
Although federal law enshrines the principle that SNAP should be temporary and encourage work, the federal bureaucracy and states continuously pervert it in its implementation.
As a result, only a quarter of able-bodied adults who receive SNAP benefits and are subject to a work requirement are working, and 40% live in areas where the state has waived the SNAP work requirement, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With unemployment at a record low, 7.2 million jobs open nationwide, and companies announcing major investments in the United States, we need more able-bodied Americans engaged in work. It’s a win-win for the country and American families.
Our goal is simple: Return SNAP to what Congress intended it to be. That means reasserting long-standing bipartisan work requirements, curbing state abuse of waivers from these requirements and incentivizing states to use SNAP employment, career and technical education programs, which are proven paths off government assistance. This isn’t just smart policy; it’s also what the American people expect.
Nonetheless, rather than working toward a consensus on workforce participation, many Democrats defend the status quo, even when it runs counter to public opinion. The majority of Americans, including most Democrats, support commonsense work requirements for public assistance, yet liberal leaders resist them at every turn.
Earlier this month, the House Agriculture Committee heard from several experts on the need to increase employment among SNAP recipients and how the SNAP Employment and Training programs can be highly effective.
Every state that operates SNAP receives federal funding to operate SNAP E&T, which can provide job training and necessary work support such as uniforms, transit subsidies and child care. When elites in states and the District of Columbia propose erasing time limits and work requirements, they are further distancing eligible households from the tools and support they need, such as SNAP E&T, to weather the storm and become self-sufficient. For example, states must screen certain able-bodied adults subject to the work requirement. When states waive work requirements for this population, exempt people lose access to additional screening that could connect them to the services and support needed.
Truly compassionate policymaking requires more than handing out benefits. By strengthening work pathways through SNAP, we can help more people climb the economic ladder and no longer depend on the government.
If Congress is serious about lifting people out of poverty, it must stop treating SNAP as a permanent lifestyle and restore it as a bridge to the dignity of work.
• Rep. Dusty Johnson, South Dakota Republican, is chairman of the Republican Main Street Caucus.
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