Jobs for Food?
Rep.
John Faso has touted his support for the proposed legislation that
would require adults between 18 and 59 without dependents to meet new
work requirements in order to be eligible for food stamp benefits
(SNAP). As a major reason for his support, Faso pointed
out that “the House bill drives significant investment to employment
programs that will be administered by the states” (Oneonta Daily Star 4/13). Many of us can get behind a well- conceived program that could lead to well-paying jobs in distressed areas. However,
potential advocates for training and jobs are concerned that the
groundwork for initiating the House requirements is far from complete. According
to Kermit Kaleba, director of federal policy at the National Skills
Coalition, creating such a program for perhaps 3 million people “would
be roughly equivalent to building almost half the existing U.S.
community college system from scratch” (Politico 4/24). Although
the SNAP Employment and Training program has been used in the past by a
few states with small numbers of participants, there is little research
to support immediate implementation on a large scale. Under the bill, 1
billion would go to states that would guarantee slots for eligible
applicants. Some fear that the resulting tangled bureaucracy would likely discourage many from applying.
Might
a real motive for the new SNAP requirement be, in fact, to reduce the
food stamp rolls by setting up more hoops through which unfortunate
Americans must jump? A better idea for Rep. Faso, who sits on the Agriculture Committee pushing the bill: do
allocate money for new, carefully planned job and training
opportunities for Americans without simultaneously threatening to snatch
away an average $128/month for food from our fellow citizens who would
be glad to work if the jobs existed.
Publishing History
Oneonta Daily Star 5/3
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