More than 1 Million SNAP Participants Could Be Affected by USDA’s Proposed Waiver Rule

Currently, SNAP participants without a disability who are age 18 to 49 and live in childless SNAP households must work an average of at least 20 hours per week or face a time limit on their SNAP benefits of no more than three months of benefits in a three-year period. But states can exempt some SNAP participants from the time limit by requesting a federal waiver for a geographic area that meets USDA’s criteria for high unemployment or a weak labor market.

Under the proposed changes, it would be more difficult for states, or parts of states, to qualify for a waiver. For example, areas with an overall unemployment rate at least 20 percent above the national average can currently qualify for a waiver; under the proposed rule, however, the area’s unemployment rate would also need to be at least 7 percent to qualify.

In its Regulatory Impact Analysis, USDA estimates that, under the proposed rule, approximately 755,000 SNAP participants will ultimately lose their SNAP eligibility in fiscal year 2020. Others who are currently living in waiver areas will remain eligible, because they will increase their work-related activity to meet federal requirements, they live in areas that will continue to receive waivers, or they will continue to receive another type of state exemption.

The analysis also finds that some states are more likely than others to be affected by the proposed changes—in particular, states where a substantial share of nondisabled childless SNAP participants age 18 to 49 do not work the required average of 20 hours per week, and would be subject to time limits if they did not live in waiver areas. In the District of Columbia and 11 states—Alaska, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Washington—between 53 percent and 77 percent of nondisabled childless SNAP participants age 18 to 49 fall into that category.

The brief is the third in a series examining the potential impacts of recent proposed changes to SNAP. Earlier briefs examined Farm Bill legislation in 2018 that would have affected SNAP participants’ eligibility for the program and the amount of benefits they could receive based on income levels and utility allowances.