A woman complained on Wednesday that it is “unfair” for people to work at least 80 hours to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
President Donald Trump’s new policy, which was included in the big, beautiful bill, raised the age limit from 49 to 64 and mandates that able-bodied individuals work for at least 80 hours in a month. One woman told FOX Local that the requirements are going to “hurt a lot of people.”
“I don’t think it’s fair that [Trump] do that … It’s definitely going to hurt a lot of people,” the woman said. “Because you never know.”
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The new requirements went into effect on December 1, four months after the passage of the big, beautiful bill on July 4.
Participation in SNAP has surged over the past two decades, rising from 17.2 million monthly participants in 2000 to 41.7 million in 2024. This surge caused annual spending to rise from $28.5 billion to nearly $100 billion, according to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data.
Billions of dollars in SNAP benefits have been paid out improperly in recent fiscal years, including in 2023, when about $10.5 billion were paid out fraudulently. Aside from fraud, critics of the program have also highlighted concerns about how these funds are spent. As of 2016, SNAP households spent 20.5% of their benefits on sugary snacks and drinks and prepared desserts, according to the USDA.
A legal dispute arose when the administration refused to cover the program’s total $8.5 to $9 billion monthly cost. The Supreme Court ruled on Nov. 8 that the administration was permitted to withhold the SNAP money during the shutdown which lasted 43 days, the longest in U.S. history.
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