the debt ceiling deal includes legislation that changes how the federal government decides who
gets supplemental food benefits or snap which typically provides support for people who make
under a certain income level the new changes are compromised for both sides Republicans want to
make it harder for people to qualify for the program and Democrats want to make snap more
accessible to people who say they need it snap is one of America's largest social safety nets
similar to Social Security and Medicare it's really the only Federal nutrition program we
have that's widely available to all different kinds of households Elaine Waxman studies this
policy for the urban Institute a DC think tank so what are these changes
so the debt Bill changes to snap Focus around work requirements which specifically apply to
individuals who are 18 to 49 currently who don't have children living with them they're sometimes
referred to as able-bodied adults without dependents the bill would actually extend
the age where those particular requirements apply to people up to the age of 55 and this
would start to phase in this fall and finish phasing in for people people at the higher end
of that bracket fall of 24. but I think we hear them referred to as work requirements but it's a
little bit of a misnomer actually most people on Snap are subject to a general work requirement
but this particular provision focused on these individuals really brings a time limit as well
so if you are unable to comply with the requirement to work 80 or more hours a month
then you are eligible only for SNAP benefits for three months out of 36 months if you are not able
to stay in compliance that's a very Draconian change and it's being applied to people who often
are a little bit more tenuously connected to the workforce particularly as they grow older it may
be more difficult to be competitive with younger workers and who is most affected by these new snap
requirements what's interesting about the debt ceiling Provisions is that while they also impose
new time limits potentially on this older group of workers they have created new exemptions for
certain categories specifically people who are homeless people who are aging out of foster care
and also people who are military veterans we know that individuals on Snap have reduced
food insecurity which is the focus of the program but also we increasingly learning that people who
are enrolled in the snap are more likely to have lower Health Care expenditures than people who are
similarly situated but not participating in the program some people have estimated that up to 750
000 people may lose benefits due to these Provisions again some folks may now newly
be eligible for exemptions but others um may not receive those what does all of this mean
for food banks and local governments that actually administer SNAP benefits
we'll have to wait and see how States cope with this but it's quite a change overall
in terms of how they will prepare it will require more workers likely there's more administrative
costs and this is one of the things that often doesn't get talked about in terms of snap costs
we focus on the benefit side but we don't talk about the fact that you know administrative
procedures require people and computers and call centers and States actually pay half of
the administrative costs for SNAP where is the federal government pays all of the benefit costs
I think this will definitely put additional pressure on the charitable feeding system and
finally how can people who receive SNAP benefits stay on top of all of these changes when experts
are struggling to understand them themselves often people don't even get a notification
of the changes in the rules I think this is a place where the non-profit sector is going to
be really key in just helping people navigate that and helping people understand that they
may be eligible for an exemption that's not automatically being offered to them we're in for
some very big challenges with people's ability to understand and navigate the new rules and now we
have these new categories and additional rules for people who have not been subject to them
even people who are experts in the field have struggled to stay on top of the nuances that
came about during the debt ceiling discussions so I can't imagine what that's like for the average
snap participant who also is just trying to work hard to meet their families basic needs
these new requirements will expire in 2030 but the debate over who gets Federal benefits and
when will undoubtedly continue for the PBS NewsHour I'm Nicole Ellis