Clyburn: I Don’t Like Current Food Stamp Work Requirements

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” House Assistant Minority Leader Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) stated that while he thinks the agreement on work requirements for food stamps in the debt ceiling bill is a good trade, “it’s tough, these work requirements” and he didn’t like the current ones.

Clyburn stated, “There was a trade here to move able-bodied working people from…age 49 up to age 54, and in exchange for that, we covered more veterans, we covered more homeless people. And I think that that, to me, is a pretty good trade-off. I agree…that it’s tough for this able-bodied work requirement to be there, but it’s always been there. We aren’t changing anything. It’s not anything new. We’re just saying, rather than up to 49 years old, it goes up to 54 years old. But when it comes to, in exchange for that, we are going to cover — I understand, over 100,000 more veterans will be brought into this definition and will be given [an] exemption and the same thing with the people who are homeless. So, I think that…it’s tough, these work requirements. But I didn’t like them when they were up to 49.”

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