INDIANAPOLIS - A plan to put work requirements on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - formerly food stamps - would cost the American economy nearly $180,000 jobs, according to a new analysis.

Language requiring that able-bodied adults prove they are working or moving toward jobs to get SNAP benefits was defeated when proposed for the last federal Farm Bill. The Trump administration now says it will enact the requirement by administrative order.

Rebecca Vallas, vice president for anti-poverty policy at the Center for American Progress, looked at its impact on grocery stores over a 10-year period.

"If that one cut were to take effect, we would see 178,000 fewer jobs," she said. "When you cut programs like SNAP, you don't just make more families hungry. You also weaken local economies."

The administration has argued that the move would push people into the workforce, but pilot projects in several states have found few have done so. The pilot projects did see higher demand at food banks.

According to White House projections, about three-quarters of a million individuals and households would lose SNAP benefits. The grocery industry has said that would translate into falling sales, especially in poor neighborhoods, where customers using SNAP benefits are a lifeline for the stores and their employees.

"The grocery industry is strongly opposed to cuts to the SNAP program," said Jonathan Williams, communications director for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400, which covers six states and Washington, D.C. "Their businesses rely on these benefits being redeemed at their stores. It would be a major blow were any cuts to occur."

Supporters of work requirements have argued that the reduced spending will help ease the federal budget deficit. However, Vallas said SNAP is a much more effective economic stimulus than the big tax cut that the SNAP cutback would help pay for. She added that people are more likely to get and keep a job when they can feed their families.

"The dirty little secret about so-called 'work requirements' is that they don't create a single job and they don't raise anyone's wages," she said. "Making someone hungrier isn't going to help them find work any faster."

The analysis is online at americanprogress.org.


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Advocates for people with disabilities in Tennessee are concerned about the potential impact of a lawsuit challenging Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

The Texas-led case, Texas v. Becerra, could weaken protections against discrimination for people with disabilities in federally funded programs.

Donna DeStefano, assistant executive director of the Tennessee Disability Coalition, warned that rolling back these protections could lead to widespread exclusion for people with disabilities. She emphasized that Section 504 has been a key Civil Rights law ensuring equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

"If somebody comes into a school situation or a health-care situation and has a disability, they're not automatically denied," she explained. "Pre-Section 504, there was no legal reason that people could not be discriminated against, and they were."

DeStefano noted that Section 504 was one of the first laws to support disabled civilians, thanks to Judy Heumann and fellow activists. Their record-breaking sit-in helped secure protections against disability discrimination in federally funded programs.

DeStefano noted anyone receiving federal funding cannot discriminate based on disability. During COVID, some people with disabilities were denied treatment at medical facilities, which violates Section 504. This led some states to update their crisis care standards to prevent discrimination.

"This law protects that, and this law looks now at increasing accessibility in medical equipment," she continued. "There are things like examination tables that are accessible, that can go up and down. There are weight scales that people could roll onto, if they were in a wheelchair."

DeStefano said Section 504 bans discrimination against people living with a disability by the federal government. This law, which predates the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, ensures equal access. Eliminating Section 504 would remove key protections and allow disability-based discrimination.

A bill moving through the Alabama Legislature could change how people who are unemployed can qualify for benefits.

House Bill 29, sponsored by Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, would require people getting unemployment to actively apply for at least five jobs per week, up from the current three.

Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, defended the measure during a public hearing Tuesday, arguing with 127,000 job openings across the state, it is a reasonable expectation.

"What are you doing for 40 hours? Let's just say it's an eight to five, an hour for lunch. What's the harm in requiring a fourth and fifth application in to find a job?," Orr asked. "Because we can't sustain people staying on unemployment forever."

Orr noted if the bill passed, the increased job search requirement would not apply to counties with populations under 20,000.

David Stout, legislative director for Alabama Arise, a nonprofit advocating for low-income and marginalized communities, argued Alabama already has some of the strictest unemployment rules in the country. He believes making the process even tougher will not necessarily push more people into jobs.

"People think that if you can just pass another more stringent bill, you're going to have people get a job. That's not so," Stout asserted. "If you look at unemployment rates in Alabama, it's about 2.8% in December. If you're drawing unemployment, you're looking for a job under already stringent regulations."

Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, voiced concerns, warning the bill overlooks major barriers, like transportation and child care, making job searching harder for some.

"You may live in one end of the county but the job may be at the other end," Coleman-Madison pointed out. "We don't have infrastructure in place to support, like, public transportation, or transportation of any type."

The bill cleared a Senate committee, positioning it for final passage in the Senate. It has already passed the House.

A new report showed Pennsylvania's labor market is healthy and strong, with 139,000 more jobs than in early 2020 and a steady unemployment rate of 3.6%.

The report noted since 2022, the Pennsylvania labor market has offered robust job opportunities to workers.

Carrie Amann, executive director of the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association, said her group's research assesses how the state's economy stands now, compared to four years ago and pre-pandemic. She stressed the need for targeted strategies to help more people find and keep jobs.

"When we look at available jobs and workers, we're seeing a rebalancing," Amann explained. "What that means is, for every one job in Pennsylvania, we have returned to one worker looking for that one available job. Historically, over the last two years or so, we've had about more jobs than available people looking for that job."

Amann pointed out economic struggles for people who are not college graduates are in the spotlight, with debates on trade, immigration and apprenticeships gaining traction. In Pennsylvania, among working-age men, one in seven is unemployed, highlighting the need for stronger workforce programs and job creation efforts.

Amann described Pennsylvania's job picture as low unemployment and high workforce participation, especially among historically disadvantaged groups. She added the state is seeing encouraging job gains for Black and Hispanic workers, a group that had seen a peak unemployment rate of over 17%.

"Over the last three years, that unemployment rate has dropped 13 percentage points," Amann reported. "From 17% in 2020 to 4.1% unemployment in 2023 for Black workers in Pennsylvania is significant growth and opportunity for that population."

The report found unemployment rates are lower in every county and every Local Workforce
Development Area than before the pandemic, with the largest drop in unemployment in the western half of the state.


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