By law, certain adults without dependents can only receive SNAP benefits beyond three months in a three-year period unless they meet specific work requirements. We refer to this as the “time limit.”
This proposed rule would amend the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program regulations to incorporate three provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.
While SNAP is intended to ensure no one in our land of plenty should fear going hungry, its rules also reflect the importance of work and responsibility.
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service and U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration partner to support able-bodied adults without dependents through the public workforce system as the Public Health Emergency ends.
In December 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published a final rule entitled “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Requirements for Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents”. This action supports the Agency’s commitment to promoting employment by applying a common-sense policy to SNAP’s work-related program standards for able bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs).
The attached questions and answers are in response to changes made by Section 4005 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, enacted on Dec.20, 2018, to the SNAP Employment and Training program and certain Able-bodied Adults without Dependents work policies.
The Food and Nutrition Service seeks to prevent firms authorized to participate in SNAP from delaying administrative actions, such as disqualification or civil money penalties, through submission of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests or appeals. As such, FNS is proposing that FOIA requests and FOIA appeals be processed separately from administrative actions FNS takes against retail food stores. This proposed rule would ensure that retail food stores can no longer use the FOIA process to delay FNS' administrative actions to sanction a retail food store for SNAP violations.
In December 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published a proposed rule entitled “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Requirements for Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents”. This action supports the Agency’s commitment to self-sufficiency by more broadly applying SNAP’s work-related program standards for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs).
This rule finalizes the proposed rule of the same name which was published Dec. 17, 1999. It implements 13 provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.