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Trump Proposal Seeks to Crack Down on Food Stamp 'Loophole'

Associated Press

   Residents signing up for food stamps in Minnesota are provided a
   brochure about domestic violence, but it doesn't matter if they read
   it. The fact it was made available could allow them to qualify for
   government food aid if their earnings or savings exceed federal limits.
   As odd as that might sound, it's not unusual.
   Thirty-eight other states also have gotten around federal income or
   asset limits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by using
   federal welfare grants to produce materials informing food stamp
   applicants about other available social services. Illinois, for
   example, produced a flyer briefly listing 21 services, a website and
   email address, and a telephone number for more information.
   Former President Barack Obama's administration encouraged the tactic as
   a way for states to route federal food aid to households that might not
   otherwise qualify under a strict enforcement of federal guidelines. Now
   President Donald Trump's administration is proposing to end the
   practice -- potentially eliminating food stamps for more than 3 million
   of the nation's 36 million recipients.

   Ideological clash
   The proposed rule change, outlined this past week by the U.S.
   Department of Agriculture, has highlighted the ideological clash
   between Trump's attempts to tighten government entitlement programs and
   efforts in some states to widen the social safety net.
   It's also stirred outrage and uncertainty among some who stand to be
   affected.
   "I think it's pretty rotten," said Lisa Vega, a single mother of two
   teenage boys in suburban Chicago who applied for food stamps last month
   after losing her job. Because she receives regular support payments
   from her ex-husband, Vega said, her eligibility for food stamps likely
   hinges on the income eligibility exceptions that Trump's administration
   is trying to end.
   "A lot of these politicians don't realize that us Americans out here
   are living paycheck to paycheck, one crisis away from being homeless,"
   Vega said. "You're just going to take this kind of stuff away from us
   when we need it the most?"

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