House GOP Proposes Food Stamp Reform, Including Work Requirements

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are planning to introduce legislation to reform the current food stamp program, including a requirement that recipients must be active in some kind of work.

As reported by Fox News, Congressman Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) will introduce the “America Works Act of 2025,” which would mandate that any Americans on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) who are able-bodied and childless, and between the ages of 18 and 65, must work no less than 20 hours per week.

The work may be either through an occupation or work-related education. Exemptions would apply to adults who have a dependent child under the age of 7. Additional exemptions would be allowed for recipients living in counties where the unemployment rate is higher than 10%.

“Able-bodied people who can work should work if we want to continue to have our welfare programs be pathways out of poverty,” said Congressman Johnson in an interview. “There is no reliable path out of poverty that doesn’t have work, training and education at its core.”

Under the current requirements of the SNAP program, recipients between the ages of 18 and 54 can receive up to three months of benefits over the course of three years before they are required to work no less than 80 hours per month.

Johnson’s proposal is one of many issues being considered as Republicans in Congress prepare for the budget reconciliation process, which will allow them to put any policy item they want into the budget bill so that it may pass with a simple majority rather than a filibuster-proof majority.

As such, congressional Republicans have been debating which aspects of President Donald Trump’s agenda should be included in the budget legislation. Republicans in the House, led by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), had supported the so-called “one big, beautiful bill” effort to include as many policy achievements in the single legislation as possible. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), had been in favor of passing President Trump’s agenda in several separate, smaller bills.

Last week, President Trump publicly confirmed his support for the House Republicans’ efforts to compile everything into a single bill.