Not all SNAP recipients can meet work mandate

Dear Editor: In a recent interview in which he expressed support for the revised work requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, U.S. Rep. John Faso stated, “The best path to economic independence is a job . ... This isn’t rocket science.”

I’m sure Faso, R-Kinderhook, is aware, though, that most SNAP recipients are either working full-time, sometimes multiple, low-wage jobs; are forced to work part-time to care for sick relatives; and/or attend college.

According to Feeding America, 24 percent of working-client households contain an adult currently enrolled in school. Limited work hours, employment status changes, and adverse household expenses are common challenges leading people to rely on public assistance. These circumstances may prohibit recipients from attaining 20-hour-a-week work days, as the Faso-backed measure requires for 18- to 59-yearold individuals with children above age 6. Faso favors withholding SNAP benefits for one year from anyone violating this.

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, 48.8 percent of Faso’s constituents living below the federal poverty line receive SNAP benefits. We are apparently so strapped for cash we can’t take care of them, yet the GOP congressional majority, of which Faso is part, just handed a $1.5 trillion permanent tax break to their wealthy donors.

Ted Millar, Milton