INCOME & WORK SUPPORTS UPDATE
JUNE 2023

Featured Publications
To Help Returning Citizens Rebuild Their Lives, Congress Must Lift the SNAP Felony Drug Ban [[link removed]]
People who reenter society after incarceration need support from social programs such as SNAP to establish economic stability. Earlier this month, lawmakers in the House and Senate reintroduced the RESTORE (Re-Entry Support Through Opportunities for Resources and Essentials) Act, which would repeal the ban on SNAP benefits for people with prior felony drug convictions, allowing them to apply for food assistance 30 days before being released. Congress can also repeal this harmful ban as part of the Farm Bill reauthorization later this year.

Medicaid Unwinding Data is Coming In: States Need to Evaluate How to Limit Coverage Loss; CMS Should Be Ready to Act. [[link removed]]
This month marks the first time in more than three years that states can disenroll people from Medicaid. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 45 percent of people who lose Medicaid coverage will still be eligible. Their loss of coverage is largely preventable, but it still happens because of onerous renewal paperwork, long wait times at call centers, or other administrative barriers.

The SNAP Hot Foods Ban Is Inequitable and Should Be Removed [[link removed]]
Another provision Congress should address in the upcoming Farm Bill legislation is SNAP’s hot foods ban. With very limited exceptions, SNAP recipients are not allowed to use their benefits to purchase prepared or hot meals. This policy is paternalistic, inconvenient, and ableist. SNAP recipients know what food is right for them and their families.

In the News
May 31, 2023 | Capital & Main
Changes in Pandemic-Era Benefits Mean New Hardship for Millions [[link removed]]

May 30, 2023 | NBC News
Anti-hunger advocates slam the expanded work requirements for SNAP participants in the Biden-McCarthy debt limit deal [[link removed]]

May 2, 2023 | Axios
Nonprofit grocery stores rehab America’s food deserts [[link removed]]

April 28, 2023 | Montana Standard
Montana families need both the child tax credit and public investment in child care [[link removed]]

April 21, 2023 | The Washington Post
Medicaid is paying for housing, food in more states [[link removed]]

IWS Updates
The debt ceiling agreement that President Biden signed into law includes several provisions that will restrict access to TANF and SNAP. You can read CLASP's official statement here: [link removed]. The changes that will restrict access include:

a. The agreement included changes to the TANF program. By changing the caseload reduction credit baseline year from 2005 to 2015 and setting a minimum of $35 for supplemental payments to count toward a state’s work participation rate, the new rules will make it harder for states to meet their work participation rates. (You can read more about the TANF work participation rate in our CLASP TANF 101 policy brief here: [link removed]). The bill also will require all states to report new performance measures to the Department of Health and Human Services. Finally, the bill starts a pilot program that allows up to five states to implement new outcome measures in their TANF program—a promising step.

b. The agreement will put almost 750,000 older adults at risk of losing food assistance by expanding SNAP’s so-called work requirement to people ages 50-54. These requirements primarily serve to limit people’s access to programs. They don’t equip people with tools or employment that allow them to leave poverty and reach financial stability. Democrats accepted this expansion in exchange for provisions that exempt people experiencing homelessness, former foster youth, and veterans from reporting requirements. While a victory in theory, systemic barriers (e.g., acquiring quality health insurance that enables a disabled person to affordably secure a diagnosis) often block people experiencing poverty from proving that they are eligible for an exemption. Thankfully, Medicaid avoided any new work-reporting requirements.
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Last month, the Senate advanced a measure under the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Biden Administration’s 2022 public charge rule in a vote of 50-47. Although this is yet another disheartening attack on immigrants, the Biden Administration has reaffirmed its commitment to veto any attempts to turn this attack into law. What this means for immigrants is there is no change to the actual public charge rule: they will continue to have access to public benefits programs.

That being said, we take any attack on immigrant families seriously and are committed to mounting an effective defense. The Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) coalition put together this organizational sign-on letter, formally expressing opposition to this resolution. The letter will be shared in a variety of contexts, including with congressional offices, journalists, and on social media. By signing on, you will also be alerted when and if the legislation advances in the House. Here is the link to sign on: [link removed].
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We will publish an IWS newsletter every two months instead of once a month!

Key publications and blogs
May 26, 2023 | Cara Brumfield & Emily Andrews
Work Requirements Won’t Solve Labor Shortages [[link removed]]
May 17, 2023 | Akeisha Latch
Expanding Double Up Bucks is Essential for Reducing Food Insecurity [link removed]
May 9, 2023 | Akeisha Latch
CLASP Supports Proposed Rule to Lower Community Eligibility Provision [[link removed]]
April 25, 2023 | Jesse Fairbanks
CLASP Comments on Community Engagement Requirements within HUD’s Proposed Rule on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing [[link removed]]
April 24, 2023 | Ashley Burnside and Barbie Izquierdo
Congress can address campus hunger by lifting SNAP’s college student work requirements [[link removed]]

What we’re reading
The Conversation | As the U.S. expands work conditions for income assistance, Canada takes a different tack [[link removed]]
The Ezra Klein Show | The Book I Wish Every Policymaker Would Read [[link removed]]
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities | TANF Provisions in Debt Ceiling Agreement [[link removed]]
The New York Times | A New Front in Reparations: Seeking the Return of Lost Family Land [[link removed]]


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