Govt. Considers Making
Felons And Lottery Winners Ineligible for Food Stamps
Major changes could be coming soon
for two groups of people receiving food stamps — certain convicted criminals
and winners of large lottery prizes.
On Thursday, the Department of
Agriculture published a
series of proposed rules that would enforce laws passed by Congress nearly
three years ago.
The last farm bill, signed into law
on Feb. 7, 2014, authorized federal spending for the welfare program
and prohibited both serious felons and substantial lottery winners from
receiving benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,
according to the proposed rules.
Section 4008 of the bill prohibited
anyone convicted of federal aggravated sexual abuse, murder, sexual exploitation and abuse of children, sexual assault, or similar offenses
under state laws, as well as those who are not in compliance with the
terms of their sentence or parole or are fleeing felons, from
receiving food stamps.
Existing rules already prohibited
“fleeing felons and probation or parole violators from obtaining SNAP
benefits,” but now anyone convicted as an adult of murder or aggravated sexual assault
will also be barred from receiving food stamps, The Daily Caller reported.
Section 4009 prohibited households
containing a member with substantial lottery and gambling winnings from receiving food
stamps until the household met the allowable financial resources and
income eligibility requirements of the program.
The “substantial lottery and gambling
winnings” must amount to $25,000 or more from the lottery before taxes in order
to render the household ineligible for SNAP benefits, according to The Daily
Caller.
In addition to these major updates, the
proposed rules also mandated that each state have a system in place to verify
the immigration status and income of anyone who applies for
food stamps.
States currently have the option of
using verification systems to determine SNAP eligibility, but the new rules —
if enacted — would require each state agency to create an automated
system for checking applicants’ requirements.
More than 44 million Americans
were reportedly receiving food stamps as of Nov. 10, 2016, according
to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
Comments
This is a drop in the
bucket, but it should be done. The real
savings will come when we end welfare for refugees and immigrants. The big
savings will kick in when all US citizens have jobs and can lift themselves out
of poverty.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea
Party Leader
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