Tag Archives: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

This Really Should Not Surprise Anyone

Posted on by

On Monday, American Greatness posted an article about the impact of the Big Beautiful Bill on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The article reports:

Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has declined significantly since new federal work requirements took effect in mid-2025, with millions fewer Americans receiving benefits, according to newly reported federal data.

The number of people enrolled in SNAP has fallen by roughly 3.5 million since July 2025, dropping from an average of 42.1 million participants in the prior fiscal year to about 38.5 million as of January 2026, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

The decline follows the implementation of expanded eligibility rules included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed into law by Donald Trump on July 4, 2025. The legislation broadened existing work requirements for able-bodied adults, mandating that individuals between the ages of 18 and 64 without young dependents participate in at least 80 hours per month of work, volunteering, or government-run programs.

Previously, the requirements applied to a narrower age group and included different criteria for dependents, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP. Officials told The Wall Street Journal that the recent changes represent the most sweeping adjustments to the program in decades.

There is no reason that healthy Americans should be able to sit at home while the rest of us work to supply them with groceries. We need to help those who need help, but we don’t need to enable those who don’t want to work.

The article concludes:

Several states, including Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee, have reported double-digit percentage declines. In response, some state officials have begun efforts to connect affected residents with employment and volunteer opportunities to help them meet the new requirements.

Arizona has seen the steepest drop, with participation falling by more than half. According to state data, more than 424,000 fewer residents are receiving benefits, including approximately 181,000 children. State officials attributed much of the decline to the rapid implementation of the new federal rules.

“The expanded work requirements were primarily responsible for the drop,” Brett Bezio, a spokesman for Arizona’s Department of Economic Security, told The Wall Street Journal.

This is the way you lower federal spending.

A Reasonable Law

Posted on by

There has been some discussion lately about the misuse of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. I agree with the idea of not using them for soda and candy or fast food, but some of the rules seem a little picky. Senator Fetterman has decided to fix one rather strange rule. Under current SNAP rules, SNAP recipients can purchase cooked rotisserie chickens that have been cooled down, but it does not allow the purchase of hot prepared foods (hot rotisserie chickens). That makes no sense at all.

On Thursday, Just the News reported:

A bill that would allow recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to buy hot rotisserie chicken is one step closer to becoming law.

On Thursday, the U.S. House voted 384-35 in support of an amendment to the Farm Bill, which would modify the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to law to allow the purchase of hot rotisserie chicken for SNAP beneficiaries.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., introduced bipartisan legislation labeled the “Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act,” in the Senate a week ago to change the current statute, which allows SNAP recipients to purchase cooked rotisserie chickens that have been cooled down, but it does not allow the purchase of hot prepared foods.

He took to social media on Thursday evening to celebrate its passage in the U.S. House.

“Doesn’t only include my crew’s favorite + affordable $4.99 Costco rotisserie — but ANY hot rotisserie,” he said in part of social media post. “Feeding families: a (rotisserie) chicken in every pot.”

SNAP to include HOT ROTISSERIE CHICKEN.384-35! Doesn’t only include my crew’s favorite + affordable $4.99 Costco rotisserie 😜 — but ANY hot rotisserie. Feeding families: a (rotisserie) chicken in every pot. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/N9bNfynRKx— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) April 30, 2026

The article concludes:

Fetterman, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, has also backed other efforts addressing SNAP benefits including Bennet’s Hot Food Act, which would allow all hot foods to be eligible under the program, and the Cybersecurity for SNAP Act, which would increase the security of EBT cards to prevent skimming.

The measure now heads to the Senate for consideration as part of the farm bill, according to The Hill.

A number of stores sell rotisserie chickens both hot and cold. This law will make life easier for working parents.

Taking Action Against Fraud

Posted on by

On Saturday, Alpha News posted an article about changes made to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to stop the fraud within the program.

The article reports:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service has disqualified 1,562 retailers associated with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and disabled 760 illegal point-of-sale devices since Oct. 1, 2025.

This has resulted in the prevention of nearly $835 million in fraudulent SNAP transactions, Stephen Vaden, deputy secretary of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), said in an April 17 post on X.

“Commit fraud? We will find you and hold you accountable. Including jail time. And now, we have the whole of government, under the leadership of @VP and @AFergusonFTC, rooting out abuse of any program meant to help the most vulnerable,” Vaden wrote, referring to Vice President JD Vance and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson.

Responding to the post, Ferguson said, “More is coming!”

Fraud by SNAP retailers can involve selling items not allowed under the program, exchanging SNAP benefits for cash, and lying on their applications to get authorized to participate as a retailer under the program, according to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.

Such retailers can face permanent or temporary disqualification from the program, denial of application, withdrawal of authorization, financial penalties, and criminal charges that can lead to fines and even prison time.

The article concludes:

In a Dec. 2 report last year, the Government Accountability Office noted that most SNAP benefit cards lack features to prevent theft, such as microchips, which are standard on debit cards.

“Although the full extent of theft is unknown, states reported replacing more than $320 million in stolen benefits between October 2022 and December 2024. During that period, state SNAP agencies provided funds to replace stolen benefits when recipients reported a theft that could be substantiated,” the report said.

“But some recipients may not have known they could file a claim. And the law limited recipients’ filing to two claims per year. As a result, the estimate of losses may not truly reflect the full extent of theft. And, after December 2024, states can no longer replace stolen SNAP benefits with federal funds.”

It’s a beginning. I can’t imagine how much federal spending we can cut simply by dealing with the fraud.

Supporting Bad Habits With Your Tax Dollars

Posted on by

On Monday, Just the News posted an article about how Americans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are using them.

The article reports:

Food stamps were first issued in 1939 as an assistance program to prevent starvation during the Great Depression.  But 86 years later, thousands of liquor stores and smoke shops have become approved retailers, increasing the possibility of fraud, new research shows. 

The longest ever government shutdown, which ended after 43 days of deadlock, thrust the federal food stamp program into the national spotlight as millions of recipients went without benefits. But, it also laid bare many abuses in the system.   

Even before the shutdown, the Trump administration planned to crack down on fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program and ensure any government assistance is used for healthy and nutritional foods, not junk. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made specific changes to qualifying for the program, as well as a redefined list of products for which SNAP cannot be used.

The article notes how some of the assistance is being currently used:

An analysis of SNAP retailer data by the Foundation for Government Accountability published on Monday found that more than 5,000 liquor and smoke shops were approved retailers under the program, meaning they can accept food stamps, according to research findings shared exclusively with Just the News.  

Breaking down the data, more than 4,000 stores promoted alcohol in their title and another 1,000 did so for tobacco. The foundation told Just the News the real numbers could be even higher, considering researchers only counted stores that referenced those products in their titles.

Food stamps cannot be used for purchases of either alcohol or tobacco. However, the FGA says the prevalence of stores that sell these products raises concerns about the potential for different kinds of SNAP fraud. These stores “become hotbeds of fraud” where benefit cards are bought and sold in exchange for alcohol or tobacco products, Senior Data Analyst at FGA Kristi Stahr told Just the News. 

The article notes:

Just a handful of examples illustrate the problem. In 2018, one North Carolina grocery store was caught accepting SNAP benefits for non-food products in a $200,000 fraud scheme. The following year, a Virginia grocery store owner was sentenced to 20 years for trafficking more than $1.5 million in SNAP benefits. In 2020 in California, a man was convicted for selling SNAP benefits in exchange for cash, which resulted in a hefty fine and prison time.

According to the report from FGA, more than 70% of all food stamp traffickers are convenience stores like the liquor and smoke shops found in the database and about half of all liquor and smoke shops identified by the group were approved as retailers during the Biden administration. 

I am beginning to think that the task assigned to Hercules of cleaning the Augean stables, which had not been cleaned in over thirty years and housed over 3,000 immortal cattle, was nothing compared to the task of cleaning out the corruption in the federal government and its programs.

One Unexpected Positive Consequence Of The Shutdown

Posted on by

On Friday, The Hill posted an article about what may be the only positive result of the shutdown–some of the corruption in our government may actually be dealt with!

The article reports:

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Thursday said the Trump administration is planning to have all Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries reapply for the program due to alleged fraud. 

The secretary said after receiving data on SNAP recipients from 29 red states that “186,000 deceased men and women and children in this country are receiving a check.”

…Every state has a periodic recertification process that requires SNAP or food stamp recipients to update their whereabouts and earnings, according to the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Most municipalities require updated data every six to 12 months. 

The article concludes:

More than 41 million Americans rely on the benefits to buy groceries, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

However, Rollins told Newsmax that 120 Americans have been arrested for committing SNAP fraud and on Thursday told CNN the program was “corrupt.”

“These are the things that we’re uncovering that, for years, no one has really ever dug into because the feds didn’t have the system in place to do it. But we do now,” the secretary told Newsmax.

“The president has made this a priority,” she added. “We will fix this program.”

Imagine how many taxpayer dollars could be saved if we stopped all of the cheating in government programs.

We Are Not Dealing With Judges Or Politicians That Have Any Concern For The People Of America

Posted on by

We need to remember that the political left has no desire or requirement in their own minds to play fair. The left has made politics and governing truly a blood sport. It’s getting worse. The American people are the pawns in their game, and now they have expanding that to children.

On Friday, The Gateway Pundit reported:

US Attorney General Pam Bondi went off on Obama-appointed John McConnell for forcing the USDA to raid school-lunch money to fund SNAP benefits.

US District Judge John McConnell, an Obama appointee, scolded DOJ lawyers on Thursday during a hearing and ordered the Trump Administration to fully deliver the SNAP benefits to states by Friday.

“The evidence shows that people will go hungry, food pantries will be overburdened and needless suffering will occur,” Judge McConnell said to the DOJ lawyer on Thursday. “Last weekend, SNAP benefits lapsed for the first time in our nation’s history. This is a problem that could have and should have been avoided.”

More than 40 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits, and the $5 billion emergency fund was not enough to cover the program for November.

…The judge played dirty tricks with the timing of his court order and the First Circuit Court played along to disadvantage the government.

“Why could we file this brief only this morning, with that clock ticking? The First Circuit clerk’s office made it impossible to file sooner,” Bondi said.

“Despite being notified by the government of the high likelihood of fast-moving litigation, the First Circuit clerk’s office refused to answer its phones until this morning, and refused to offer any means of filing this emergency request until it processed certain paperwork during regular business hours,” Bondi said.

I realize that ending the filibuster could be risky in the long term, but the Democrats and their dirty game are giving the Republicans little choice.

One Way To Cut The Costs Of The SNAP Program

Posted on by

As I have previously stated numerous time, the federal budget is getting out of hand. We need to find ways to cut the spending. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has a suggestion.

On Sunday, The Daily Caller reported:

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said Sunday on “Fox & Friends Weekend” thousands of illegal migrants have been taken off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and that there will be drastic reform to ensure those who are truly vulnerable receive benefits.

Concerns about maintaining SNAP benefits began in October 2025 as the government shutdown stretched out. Notably, a handful of Democrats sued the Trump administration to use a contingency fund to continue the food aid. Highlighting how the argument over the benefits shed light on who is receiving SNAP, Rollins was asked to discuss reports of illegal immigrants being eligible for SNAP.

“There’s been a lot of miscommunication out there on the program, but this is one of the first things we did when I walked in. Day One of USDA, February 13th, is we sent letters to every governor in America being very clear that no illegal aliens can use SNAP. Zero, zero, zero,” Rollins said. “We asked every state for the first time in history — and this was in February — to send us their data and let us, with DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] and a war room, actually start going through this data to better understand how this explosion of SNAP benefits happened under Joe Biden. We increased almost 40% on this program in just a couple of years under the Biden administration.”

Illegal immigration was one of the reasons for the increased enrollment in the SNAP Program, but another cause was the inflation caused by the Biden administration’s energy and economic policies.

The article concludes:

According to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) memo obtained in September 2025 by the Daily Caller News Foundation, federal officials were directed to scrutinize and weed out migrant applicants deemed more likely to become dependent on government services and programs.

While data on illegal migrants and SNAP usage is limited, USDA data from 2022 shows the program provided benefits to 1.465 million noncitizens, with an additional 2.2 million children living with noncitizens also receiving SNAP benefits, according to the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC). Data pulled by EPIC shows California led the nation in this regard, providing 273,000 food stamps to noncitizens in fiscal year 2022, followed by Florida with 238,000, and New York with 218,000.

The Shutdown Is Hurting Americans

Posted on by

To me, one of the most annoying things about the current government shutdown is that Congress is getting paid while Americans go without. Admittedly, there are some serious scammers on various government programs, but there are also people who genuinely need help to pay their bills, have a place to live, and eat. North Carolina has a part of its budget process that I truly admire–if a new budget is not passed, the old budget remains. The state government is never at risk for a shutdown.

On Sunday, Breitbart reported:

As temperatures begin to drop around the U.S., Democrat lawmakers’ refusal to fund the government may impact the ability of some Americans to heat their homes.                

Jacqueline Chapman, a retired school aide who relies on a $630 monthly Social Security check to get by, presents the real-world example of someone impacted by the shutdown on pace to be the longest in U.S. history.

Chapman told Boston’s WCBB5 that she was already dealing with the loss of her food stamp, or SNAP, benefits when she learned the assistance she receives for heating her Philadelphia apartment may also be at risk.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that aid some 42 million Americans have also been delayed, although a federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday ordered the Trump administration to at least partially fund the program with money held in reserve.

“I feel like I’m living in scary time,” the 74-year-old senior told the news outlet. “It’s not easy to rest when you know you have things to do with limited accounts, limited funds. There isn’t too much you can do.”

Let’s clean up the fraud in the American ‘safety net’ and make sure help goes to the people who need it.

The Law Of Unintended Consequences

Posted on by

The government shutdown continues. The Democrats refuse to pass a clean continuing resolution identical to thirteen that they have previously passed. The shutdown is on the Democrats–all but one Republican has voted to keep the government open. However, while the shutdown continues, we are learning some interesting things.

On Monday, The Gateway Pundit reported:

One aspect of the government shutdown that probably wasn’t anticipated by Chuck Schumer and other Democrats, is that it has revealed to the public just how many people receive food stamps.

Years ago, when the program was still called ‘food stamps’ it was seen as something that struggling families might use temporarily to get through a hard time. Then it was re-branded as the ‘SNAP’ program and destigmatized. People were encouraged to enroll. Now there are many more people using the program, many who probably don’t even really need it.

The longer the shutdown goes on, the more reports there are about this and it’s stunning to taxpayers who did not realize until now how incredibly huge this is.

The article quotes The Hill:

More than 40 million low-income food assistance beneficiaries are expected to receive less help with grocery bills — or no help at all — in the coming days.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is threatening to withhold billions of dollars in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) contingency funding, which Congress has already allocated for emergency scenarios, if the government shutdown stretches into November.

According to The Overton News:

“There are 42 million people in this country that need food stamps on a weekly basis.”

“And we’re saying ‘people’ deliberately instead of Americans because most of the people that are on food stamps aren’t even from this country.”

“45% of Afghanistan immigrants are on food stamps.”

“42% of Somali immigrants, 34% of every immigrant from Iraq, 23% of Haitians.”

“59% of ALL illegal aliens are collecting food stamps, meaning that most of the people getting food stamps from the U.S. Government and the U.S. Taxpayer are not even Americans.”

“Think about that.”

“And we didn’t know about any of this before the government shutdown started.”

“But thanks to Democrats, we can confirm tonight that millions of Joe Biden, illegal aliens, people who crossed the border when Joe was president, are now collecting food stamps from a program funded by hardworking American taxpayers.”

This country was built by immigrants who came here, worked hard, didn’t take money from the government, and contributed to the growth of America. I need someone to explain to me how the people who came here illegally and immediately took advantage of government programs are benefiting America.

Not All Democrats Support The Government Shutdown

Posted on by

On Monday, The Daily Caller posted an article about one union that is not supporting the current Schumer Shutdown.

The article reports:

Senate Democrats were dealt a severe blow on Monday morning when the country’s largest federal workers union called for a swift end to the government shutdown.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a union representing more than 800,000 government workers, released an open letter calling on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his caucus to vote for a House-passed bipartisan spending bill to reopen the government. Schumer and a majority of Democrats have voted against a clean funding measure to reopen the government a dozen times — and will vote on a spending bill to end the shutdown for a 13th time as soon as Tuesday.

“It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today,” AFGE national president Everett Kelley said in a statement. “No half measures, and no gamesmanship. Put every single federal worker back on the job with full back pay — today.”

The article notes:

Monday marks Day 27 of the government shutdown that continues to stretch on despite mounting financial distress for Americans who receive federal paychecks or depend on federal food aid programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Congress has passed 36 continuing resolutions to fund the government rather than following the regular budget process since January 2009. During the Biden administration Congress passed 13 continuing resolutions. Trump derangement syndrome is about to cost people their food stamps and government checks.

The article concludes:

Senate Democrats, however, show few signs of relenting from their hardball tactics that have kept the government shuttered for one of the longest durations in American history. Schumer continues to demand an extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies — in addition to a bevy of costly left-wing priorities — in exchange for reopening the government.

Just three Democratic caucus members have crossed party lines to vote for the bipartisan spending measure. Republicans must get buy-in from an additional five Democrats in order to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for government funding bills and end the shutdown.

Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has consistently voted against the bipartisan funding measure, arguing the bill does not do enough to cut spending.

A spokesperson for Schumer did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Working For Food Stamps

Posted on by

On Thursday, The Daily Caller posted an article about some changes Republican leaders want to make to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The article reports:

GOP lawmakers are proposing major reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including work requirements for a vast swathe of eligible participants, the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) has learned.

Republican Oklahoma Rep. Josh Brecheen and Utah Sen. Mike Lee will reintroduce the SNAP Reform and Upward Mobility Act (SRUMA) Thursday. The legislation would impose work requirements on food stamp recipients between the ages of 18 and 64, including individuals with children of six years of age or older

Able-bodied adults with no dependents between the ages of 18 and 54 are currently eligible for three months of SNAP benefits over three years before work requirements start to kick in, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees the program.

The article notes:

Nearly two-thirds of Americans support work requirements for individuals receiving SNAP benefits, according to a 2023 poll conducted by the Axios-Ipsos American Health Index.
Eight in ten registered Republican voters told the survey they back work requirements for SNAP or Medicaid recipients.

Brecheen and Lee’s proposal to rein in the cost of the entitlement program comes as GOP lawmakers are aiming to slash trillions in federal spending to help offset the cost of the president’s tax and spending priorities Congress is currently negotiating.

More than 42 million Americans received monthly SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2023, according to USDA data. Since the 1990s, federal SNAP spending has risen from less than $20 billion to more than $110 billion, according to information shared by Brecheen’s office.

Another suggested revision to the SNAP program is to prohibit the use of SNAP benefits to purchase soft drinks and most junk food. I may be cynical, but I suspect that if that rule is put into place, we will see a lot of food products suddenly renamed to avoid the restriction.

Change is needed. I don’t mind helping a person buy food in a time of need, but I also believe that people who are able to work should be required to work at least part time to get government benefits.

Leadership Matters

Posted on by

Breitbart is reporting today that according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 6.2 million individuals dropped off food stamps since President Donald Trump completed his first full month in office.

The article reports:

The most recent USDA data shows that 6,268,285 individuals discontinued their participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)— the program in charge of food stamps— since February 2017 when Trump finished his first month as president.

Individual and household food stamp participation has consistently declined since 2013 back when the Obama administration was in power and enrollment in the program reached its highest point in U.S. history.

The article concludes:

Trump has stated that he wants to curb the nation’s dependency on food stamps and wants those coming into the country to be self-sufficient.

The president told Breitbart News in an Oval Office interview that he does not want any immigrants coming into the U.S. to be dependent on welfare programs.

“I don’t want to have anyone coming in that’s on welfare,” Trump told Breitbart News in March.

The Trump administration also recently released several policies that would close loopholes for those taking advantage of the nation’s food stamp program.

The USDA issued a proposal in July that would close a “loophole” allowing 3.1 million people who already receive benefits from a non-cash welfare program to receive food stamps through SNAP.

The Trump administration also released a “public charge rule” last month which would deny green cards to immigrants or make it harder for them to obtain them if they have a history of using welfare benefits such as food stamps.

Welfare programs are meant to be a temporary help–not a career choice. Americans need to get back in the habit of working to support themselves and their families. President Trump is moving us in that direction.

Economic Policies Impact All Of Us

Posted on by

The Trump economy has been good for everyone. Taxes are lower, wages are moving up, unemployment is low, and the workforce participation rate is moving up. Wages on the lower economic scale have seen a marked increase in the past year. However, one thing that impacts government spending as well as being an indication of economic conditions  is food stamps. Yesterday Breitbart reported that the most recent USDA data revealed that 37,911,631 people received food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in December 2018, marking the lowest level of overall participation in the nation’s food stamp program in nearly ten years. That is good news for the people who no longer need food stamps, and it is good news for taxpayers who fund food stamps.

The article reports:

The last time overall participation in food stamps reached this level was in October 2009, when 37,672,818 people were on the government dole, according to USDA data.

…After 2013, SNAP enrollment plummeted once state legislatures passed laws requiring food stamp recipients to work, attend school, volunteer, or participate in job training for a set number of hours per week to receive benefits.

Food stamp enrollment dropped even further under President Trump’s administration partly because of the administration’s efforts to reform welfare programs like SNAP at federal and state levels of government and an improving economy spurred by Trump’s tax reform package.

The article concludes:

According to the latest USDA data, 4.2 million Americans have dropped off of the food stamp rolls during Trump’s presidency.

President Trump also signaled that he is looking to limit dependency on welfare programs like food stamps even further.

The president recently told Breitbart News in an Oval Office interview that he does not want any immigrants coming into the U.S. to be dependent on welfare programs.

“I don’t want to have anyone coming in that’s on welfare,” Trump told Breitbart News last Monday.

The asylum program was not meant to be a free lunch. There is a difference between people coming here to work and people coming here for free stuff.

One Way To Trim The Federal Budget

Posted on by

Breitbart is reporting today that according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 3.8 million people dropped off food stamps since President Donald Trump’s first full month in office.

The article reports:

The latest USDA data revealed that food stamp participation dropped to 38,577,141 in November 2018, down by 3,899,257 since Trump took office in February 2017, when 42,134,301 Americans received food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Food stamp enrollment also dropped to its lowest level in a decade. The last time overall food stamp participation was this low was in November 2009, when 38,184,306 people were on the government dole, according to USDA data.

Overall food stamp participation had consistently declined since 2013 when the Obama administration was in power and enrollment in the program reached its highest levels in the nation’s history.

After 2013, SNAP enrollment plummeted once state legislatures passed laws requiring food stamp recipients to work, attend school, volunteer, or participate in job training for a set number of hours per week to receive benefits.

Another cause for the drop in food stamp participation was a proposal to tighten regulations regarding recent legal aliens. Food stamp participation by people who immigrated to the United States during the past five years has dropped by 10 percent. This is in response to a proposal that immigrants who received food stamps or other welfare benefits would not be granted permanent residency in the United States.

We cannot be the free lunch for anyone in America or the world who does not want to earn a living. Food stamps should be a temporary safety net–not a permanent solution. Work requirements and limitations on non-citizens using food stamps are a way to make sure the food stamp program is not misused.

How Much Of Our Tax Money Is Wisely Spent?

Posted on by

On Sunday The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about fraud in the government’s food stamp program.

The article reports:

According to a new report produced by the Government and Accountability Office (GAO), at least $1 billion in food stamp benefits are “trafficked annually,” meaning they are fraudulently used. The extent of the fraud is uncertain, the GAO warns, estimating the abuse of the program could be as high as $4.7 billion.

About 20 million lower-income households receive benefits from the $64 billion Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, to buy food. But GAO found that instead of being used for food, many stores are defrauding the program by “selling” cash instead of food.

“For example, a store might give a person $50 in exchange for $100 in benefits – then pocket the difference,” GAO explains.

The article explains one possible remedy:

The fraud, known as “retailer trafficking,” costs taxpayers at least $1 billion. However, the real cost could be “anywhere from $960 million to $4.7 billion,” the GAO adds.

The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank advocating reform, launched a “Stop the Scam initiative” to raise awareness of the widespread problem.

“Welfare fraud is one of the biggest untold stories of the last decade, robbing resources from the truly needy and eroding public trust in the integrity of our welfare programs,” Sam Adolphsen, vice president of executive affairs at FGA, said in a statement. “While the bad-actor food stamp retailers exposed in this GAO report are in part to blame, we must not lose sight of the accountability that falls upon the food stamp recipient willing to commit fraud and abuse the system.”

The FGA hopes to reduce fraud and abuse at the state level by uncovering discrepancies in each state’s eligibility systems by regularly reviewing their processes.

Public assistance works best when it is closest to the recipient. That way the people providing the assistance know who is in need and who is taking advantage of the program. It also allows those administering the program to spot fraud more easily. Every program in Washington needs to audited for fraud and cleaned up. That alone might make it unnecessary for Congress to raise the debt ceiling every few months.

The article concludes:

Finally, GAO recommended that FNS should “determine the appropriate scope and time frames for reauthorizing high-risk stores,” increase penalties for retail traffickers, and establish performance measures for its trafficking prevention activities.

The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 gave the USDA the authority to strengthen penalties for retailers that commit fraud, but as of November 2018, FNS had not done so.

“By failing to take timely action to strengthen penalties, FNS has not taken full advantage of an important tool for deterring trafficking,” GAO states.

When the GAO confirms what actions FNS has taken in response to its recommendations, it plans to provide updated information to the public, the agency states. It states that the FNS generally agreed with its findings.

The USDA/FNS did not respond to requests to comment for this story.

 

One Result Of A Strong Economy

Posted on by

On Monday, Breitbart reported that for the first time in eight years, the number of American households on food stamps has dropped below 20 million.

The article reports:

The latest data from the USDA reveals that the number of households on food stamps in February 2018 dropped to 19,992,124—the first time it fell below 20 million since September 2010, when 19,979,385 households were enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The USDA notes that not only is the number of households receiving food stamps at a record low level, but the number of people enrolled in food stamps has also gone down. From January to February of this year alone, overall food stamp enrollment dropped from 40,640,170 to 40,032,131.

The downward trend in enrollment has only continued over President Trump’s first year in office, keeping on pace with the stable decline in SNAP participation since 2013.

The food stamp program is included in the Farm Bill which is currently in Congress.

The article reports:

Although the Trump administration is making it a priority to require food stamp recipients to work to receive benefits, the Senate version of the 2018 Farm Bill released Friday does not include the work requirements sought out by the Trump administration and the House Agriculture Committee.

The House’s version of the bill includes a provision that would require most adults ages 18 to 59 who enroll in food stamps to work, receive job training, or look for work under a case manager’s supervision.

It is time for the people the government is feeding to go to work. The idea that working people should pay exorbitant taxes to allow other Americans to live well without working is just ridiculous. It is time for the gravy train to end.

Somehow A Lot Of News Reports Missed This

Posted on by

CNS News posted a story today about the number of Americans now receiving food stamps. If a picture is worth a thousand words, here are two pictures that tell the story:

food stamp participation chart

food stamp chart monthly

If the economy is doing so well, why are so many people receiving food stamps?

The article reports:

In 1969, the national population stood at 202,676,946, meaning the 2,878,000 persons on food stamps represented 1.4 percent of the population. In 2013, the national population stood at 316,128,839, meaning the 47,636,000 average persons participating in SNAP represented 15.1 percent of the population.

In 2013, one in five American households, or 20 percent, participated in the SNAP program. In 2013, there were 23,052,396 households that participated in the SNAP program, which was 20 percent of the 115,013,000 population.

If we don’t vote for people who want less government in November, we will totally destroy what is left of the economy of America. It’s up to the voters.