U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, and Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, has published an opinion piece in the New York Times advocating for work requirements within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The article argues that such requirements are essential to rejuvenate welfare programs currently burdened by what the authors describe as "misplaced priorities." The piece states, "Work requirements will also give new life to America’s welfare programs, which are breaking under the weight of misplaced priorities. Our policy is reasonable and will protect welfare for the truly needy while improving the trajectory of millions of families — and of our federal government."
Secretary Rollins recently issued a memorandum to state agencies responsible for SNAP administration, emphasizing that benefits should be provided with an expectation that those capable of working do so.
The joint opinion highlights a shift in welfare programs from their original mission due to increased enrollment of able-bodied adults without dependents, largely attributed to Medicaid expansion. This shift is seen as detracting from focusing on those deemed truly needy.
The authors call for reforms requiring able-bodied adults who are not certified as physically or mentally unfit to work to find employment. They urge Congress to enact these changes into law. "As leaders of the agencies that oversee the largest welfare programs in the nation...we see the data, hear the stories and understand that these programs are failing to deliver results," they assert.
A recent analysis by an economist at the American Enterprise Institute found that only 44 percent of able-bodied Medicaid beneficiaries without dependents worked at least 80 hours in December 2022. The proposed work requirements aim to address this issue by promoting self-sufficiency among beneficiaries.
Historical precedents such as President Bill Clinton's 1996 bipartisan welfare reform with Speaker Newt Gingrich are cited as evidence supporting work requirements' effectiveness in increasing labor force participation and reducing dependency.
The article concludes with a call for universal work requirements across major welfare programs managed by these agencies, emphasizing job training or community volunteering as viable alternatives if employment cannot be secured immediately. "Some will argue that work requirements create barriers to resources. We disagree," they write, arguing instead that dependency is the real barrier.
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