New Report Finds Democratic-Controlled States Overuse SNAP Waivers While Republican States Underuse Them

States are taking advantage of weak federal waiver criteria to the detriment of SNAP recipients

NEW YORK, NY – The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, is the leading antihunger program in the United States. To avoid disincentivizing work, SNAP requires that all able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) work at least 80 hours each month to retain their benefits. States can apply for temporary waivers to the ABAWD work requirement for areas where jobs are scarce. In a new Manhattan Institute issue brief, collegiate associate Thomas Cronin finds states are undermining the intent of work requirements to the detriment of SNAP recipients.

In 2019, 463 counties accounting for more than 10 million SNAP recipients (over a quarter of the program’s total enrollees) were exempted from the work requirement, despite not individually qualifying; another 44 counties with more than 550,000 SNAP recipients retained the ABAWD work requirement even as they experienced high unemployment. Cronin found states that overused waivers were typically governed by a Democrat, while those that underused were governed by a Republican. Consequently, many SNAP recipients in blue states faced steep disincentives to work that are holding them back from escaping poverty in the long run, while those in high-unemployment areas of red states who genuinely lack work opportunities lost SNAP benefits through no fault of their own. Thus, weak federal waiver guidelines have exacerbated the economic vulnerability of SNAP recipients.

Congress should act quickly to fix the eligibility process for ABAWD work requirement waivers to ensure that SNAP participants are encouraged to work while also guaranteeing that those unable to do so are not penalized. Cronin outlines a few changes to the waiver application process which would go a long way toward fixing these problems. These include:

• Prevent states from gaming the size of areas subject to waivers
• Require up-to-date data to justify waiver requests
• Stop linking local waiver use to national unemployment
• Set consistent unemployment rates for local waiver eligibility

Click here to view the full issue brief.