FGA Criticizes USDA’s Withdrawal of BBCE Rule
- BY FGA
Naples, FL—The US Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service announced on June 10 that it withdrew a rule proposed by the Department during the Trump administration that would have saved billions in taxpayer dollars by closing a loophole in the food stamp program and preserved resources for the truly needy.
The rule would have limited the abuse of “broad based categorical eligibility,” which allowed millions of individuals to receive food stamps who were not eligible under the program’s requirements. Under regulations adopted by the Clinton and Obama administrations, states were able to waive asset tests through gimmicks which opened the program to millionaires and lottery winners.
“The proposed rule was one of the most important welfare reforms in the last decade. Taking it on was a signature achievement for the Trump administration,” said Sam Adolphsen, Policy Director at FGA. “Taking it down will be a signature failure of the Biden administration.”
“It’s obviously disappointing,” Adolphsen said. “Keeping this loophole open will increase dependency, siphon resources away from the truly needy, and make broader economic and budgetary problems even worse as more families get on welfare and fewer work.”
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The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is a non–profit, multi–state think tank that specializes in health care, welfare, work, and election reforms. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org.
