Taking food away from the people who need it most does not help them get a job, it only plunges them into deeper poverty.
December 4, 2019
Everyone should be able to have enough food to live a healthy life. Taking food away from the people who need it most does not help them get a job, it only plunges them into deeper poverty.
The SNAP time limit for childless adults is a cruel federal policy that has existed since 1996. The time limit was designed to take away food, and wherever it has been implemented it has caused devastating consequences. As a result of this finalized rule, states will be forced to implement the time limit on a far broader scale, even in areas with high unemployment where it is incredibly difficult to get a job. Broader application of the SNAP time limit threatens benefits for more than 100,000 Illinoisans and hundreds of thousands of people across the country.
“This is an incredibly harmful move from the Trump administration and very simply put, it will take food off the tables from people who need it,” said Shriver Center staff attorney Nolan Downey.
The Shriver Center on Poverty Law is working to assess the impacts of the new version of the rule, but we anticipate that most of the State of Illinois would be forced to implement the time limit under this new waiver eligibility framework.
Watch Shriver Center staff attorney, Nolan Downey, speak about the impact of the new rule on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight.
Our laws and policies must support people by ensuring fair work at a living wage and by providing the income supports families need to be successful.
Systemic inequities and the legacy of structural racism make it harder for low-income people and people of color to achieve financial stability.
67 East Madison Street, Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 60603
phone: 312.263.3830
