Mother Jones

SNAP JUDGMENT

The 1996 welfare reform law is being used to cut food aid to some of the poorest Americans.

SOMETIME LAST YEAR, without any public announcement or debate, Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi made a decision that could disrupt the lives of thousands of his state’s poorest residents. The two-term Republican governor quietly reintroduced a three-month limit on food stamps for “able-bodied adults” between the ages of 18 and 49 who have no dependents. After three months of receiving federal food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), they would have to prove they were working at least 20 hours a week. If they couldn’t, their

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