Press Release: Bread for the City files lawsuit against the Trump Administration, citing new rule restricting SNAP benefits to impact DC residents

News Release — Bread for the City

January 17, 2020

Contact: George Jones, Bread for the City

Washington D.C., January 17, 2020 – Today, Bread for the City, a leading direct-service organization in Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit against the federal government, arguing against the implementation of a new Trump Administration rule that could cut more than 13,000 DC residents off food stamp benefits. The Legal Aid Society of DC and the law firm Alston & Bird LLP filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of Bread for the City and individual D.C. residents currently receiving food stamps. 

Bread for the City advocates for those experiencing poverty in Washington, D.C., many of whom are set to lose access to their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly known as food stamps) benefits due to a new rule that makes it more difficult for states, and the District, to obtain waivers of an overly burdensome requirement for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs). Such harmful rules are part of a broader effort by this Administration to undermine the safety-net that serves as a lifeline for housing, health care, and nutrition for millions of low-income Americans. 

“We at Bread for the City are beyond disappointed to learn about the Trump Administration’s potentially harmful work requirement restrictions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),” said George A. Jones, CEO. “We know that these restrictions will harm millions of Americans living on low incomes, and will invariably cause disproportionate suffering for black and brown people. Implementation of this new rule will lead to increased hunger and need and will surely have harmful impacts on our client community here in Washington, D.C., including the long-term health outcomes of food insecurity.”

This new rule, set to go into effect in April 2020, creates additional restrictions that will severely impact ABAWDs. Approximately 110,000 D.C. residents received SNAP benefits in Fiscal Year 2019, of which 14,500 are ABAWDs. If this new rule is allowed to be implemented, the vast majority (90% or 13,050) of ABAWDs in the District of Columbia will lose their access to SNAP benefits. This will substantially increase the number of D.C. residents facing food insecurity and cause irrevocable harm.

Food insecurity is associated with other conditions related to poverty, such as homelessness, job loss, and deterioration in mental and physical health. Creating more restrictions for those who need SNAP benefits places an undue burden on individuals and their families who are already suffering under the weight of poverty. These restrictions will also place a burden not only on agencies providing food assistance but, given the cascading effects of food insecurity, on direct service organizations that provide health and social services as well.

The complaint was filed along with a request for a preliminary injunction to stop the rule from going into effect while litigation is pending. It alleges that the federal government exceeded its statutory authority in promulgating the rule and is “arbitrary and capricious” because the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) did not respond substantively to public comments about the rule’s impact. The rule itself removes the long-standing ability for states and the District to apply for and obtain waivers by showing that the state/district (or an area within the state/district) lacked sufficient jobs for these adults. Since 1997, these waivers have allowed the District of Columbia to provide SNAP benefits to ABAWDs who are unable to fulfill certain work requirements. Without these waivers and given the challenges facing residents living with low-income in finding and keeping steady employment in the District, District residents who are ABAWDs would only qualify for benefits for three months out of every three year period and would be under a heavy burden of proof.

“While this lawsuit is focused on the new rule impacting ABAWDs, it’s important to keep in mind that those who are not ABAWDs will also have an increased burden in providing proof of their status, which we’ve seen as a challenge for our clients,” explains Su Sie Ju, Bread for the City’s Legal Clinic Director, “including those who are unable to work due to a physical or mental limitation.”

Ultimately, the new rule impacting ABAWDs’ abilities to access SNAP benefits as well as additional policies restricting access to necessary food and nutrition assistance will increase the risk of hunger and food scarcity for those struggling to make ends meet. By eliminating state/district flexibility for requesting waivers for ABAWDs, this Administration is causing nearly 700,000 of these individuals to lose their SNAP eligibility nationwide. Today Bread for the City is joining more than a dozen states attorney generals who have filed similar challenges in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. Bread for the City is proud to join these advocacy efforts as we stand up with our community in the fight to reduce restrictions against access to food, a basic human right.

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