Debt-Ceiling Deal Raises Age of Americans Who Must Work for Food Aid

The deal struck by President Biden and House GOP negotiators over the weekend would raise the age to 54, up from 49, for able-bodied, low-income adults without dependents who would be required to work at least 80 hours a month to receive food aid.

Currently, able-bodied, low-income people between the ages of 18 and 49 can receive food assistance for no more than three months within a three-year period unless they are working or enrolled in a work program.

Supporters of the change say people ages 50 to 54 are still capable of work and should be encouraged to do so. Opponents say many older workers might no longer be able to do physical work, and might face age discrimination in seeking employment.

“Make no mistake, these adjustments will make older, poorer Americans hungrier," Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, said at the panel’s meeting Tuesday.

Republicans say strengthening work requirements would fuel economic growth and help motivate people to lift themselves out of poverty.

The bill would drop the work requirements for veterans, homeless people and young people leaving foster care. The new exceptions and the higher age limit would end by October 2030.

“We know that people who are work-capable should work," said Rep. Dusty Johnson (R., S.D.), who introduced legislation expanding work requirements earlier this year. “We also acknowledge there are times like getting out of service or foster care that people might need a little extra time to get stable."

When asked over the weekend about concern that the food-aid changes would cause more people to go hungry, President Biden said that was a “ridiculous assertion."

Lawmakers and administration officials said they expected the new requirements would affect about 700,000 recipients of food aid between the ages of 50 and 54. About 41 million low-income people receive federal food aid.

In a development that surprised many lawmakers, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated Tuesday night that the changes to food aid would end up costing the government more money. Taken together, the phased-in expanded work requirements and the new carve-outs for veterans, the homeless and youths leaving foster care are expected to increase federal spending by $2.1 billion over 10 years, CBO said. The new exemptions are estimated to cost more than the expanded work requirements will save.

Once all of the changes go into effect, about 78,000 people would gain benefits in an average month, the CBO estimated. That number could end up being lower because successfully filling out the program’s paperwork can be a hurdle for many applicants and some veterans and homeless people may already have their work requirements waived by their states.

A family of three would generally need to earn less than $30,000 a year in gross income to qualify for food assistance.

Democrats who had pushed the White House to reject expanded work requirements said the new estimates were encouraging.

“It certainly is good to know that this is not something that overall will be harmful," Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) said Wednesday.

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R., N.C.), who helped negotiate the deal with Biden, said Wednesday he disagreed with some of CBO’s calculations, but stood by both the carve-outs and the higher age limit for work requirements.

“We think the value of work is very important for the American people, especially able-bodied citizens without any children at home," he said. “And so we wanted them in the workforce."

Able-bodied adults living in households without children made up about 7% of the population receiving food assistance in 2019, according to the Agriculture Department, which administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Although GOP leaders overcame White House resistance to include expanded work requirements in the agreement, some House Republicans said they had come up short. The bipartisan deal omitted a GOP proposal to add work requirements to Medicaid, which the White House had rejected.

“It’s complete failure and a capitulation on the part of the negotiators," Rep. Scott Perry (R., Pa.), chair of the House Freedom Caucus, said Tuesday.

The deal would make some adjustments to how states can decide to grant monthly exemptions to the existing work requirements. Currently, states can use their own judgment to drop the work requirements for up to 12% of recipients. That would be lowered to 8%. States wouldn’t be allowed to accumulate unused exemptions.