Religious leaders are worried as the US Congress starts negotiations on cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known in the past as food stamps. The conferees include a Florida congressman who says able-bodied adults should have to work to get those benefits.
The US House wants to cut SNAP funding by $39.5 billion, while the Senate bill has a $4 billion reduction. The talks come as $11 billion in cuts kick in on November first. On Wednesday, members of the Southeast Anti-Hunger Consortium said they're worried about the effect of any cuts in a region with the nation's highest rates of poverty.
Florida Congressman Steve Southerland, one of the House conferees, says his amendment requiring work for able-bodied adults is also based on religious concerns."All through Scripture there is a requirement of individuals who are able-bodied – not children, not disabled, not seniors – but individuals who are physically, mentally, psychologically able to work to participate in their own well-being", said Southerland.
Southerland wants able-bodied adults to earn their SNAP benefits by working 20 hours a week or participating in a job training program. But Debra Susie of the anti-hunger consortium says many SNAP recipients live in areas where there are no jobs or job-training slots.
"You can't force people to go to work where there are no jobs", Susie said. "And you cannot punish their children by removing food stamps if those jobs don't exist."
Southerland's amendment would exempt children, seniors and people with disabilities.