Bill would allow SNAP recipients to seek paid job training without losing benefits
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A new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives could make it easier for people to get job training while they're receiving federal food assistance.
It's hopeful news for the more than 800,000 Virginians receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
The last Farm Bill made a change that allowed people getting SNAP benefits to pursue paid job training - but their wages for that training were counted against their monthly benefit amount, reducing or even ending their food assistance.
Leah Bacon, director of investment advocacy at the Center for Employment Opportunities, said this "unintended consequence" meant people had to choose between SNAP benefits and job training opportunities.
"For far too long, people have really had to make an impossible decision - to either put food on the table for themselves and their families, or invest in their future through workforce development," said Bacon. "That really can't be the status quo."
Supporters say the legislation would ensure people in temporary, paid job-training programs won't lose access to SNAP benefits. It has bipartisan support in Congress.
Bacon said the legislation could also affect people who've recently reentered society from prison.
An estimated 60 percent of people are unemployed for a year or more after their release - and they experience food insecurity at twice the rate of the general public.
"People need immediate stability, and by offering access to a paying job and food security - through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," said Bacon, "these are really key ways in ensuring that people have the right tools as they transition back into society."
The bill was introduced in late April and is in the House Committee on Agriculture.
