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CBO: Food Stamp Rolls Explode By 70 percent

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
April 23rd, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Forty-five million people in the United States received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits - more commonly known as food stamps, a 70 percent increase from 2007. The Congressional Budget Office declared this week that the number of people receiving the benefits would continue growing until 2014.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Spending for the program, not including administrative costs, rose to $72 billion in 2011. This figure represents an increase from $30 billion four years earlier. The CBO also projected that one in seven U.S. residents received food stamps last year.

The CBO said in a report that the estimated two-thirds of jump in spending was tied to an increase in the number of people participating in the program, which provides access to food for the poor, elderly and disabled. The report also said that another 20 percent "of the growth in spending can be attributed to temporarily higher benefit amounts enacted in the" 2009 stimulus law.

The number of people receiving benefits is expected to fall after 2014 because the economy will be improving, according to the CBO.

"Nevertheless, the number of people receiving SNAP benefits will remain high by historical standards," the agency said.

The agency estimated that 34 million people, or one in 10 U.S. residents, would receive SNAP benefits in 2022 "and SNAP expenditures, at about $73 billion, will be among the highest of all non-health-related federal support programs for low-income households."

Anyone living in the U.S. can apply for food stamps. To get food stamps, you and the other people in your household must meet certain conditions. Everyone in the household must have or apply for a Social Security number and be either a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or have status as a qualified alien.

Qualified aliens are also eligible for food stamps without a waiting period. Among them are legal immigrant children under age 18; blind or disabled legal immigrants who receive disability assistance or benefits; individuals born on or before August 22, 1931, and who legally resided in the United States on August 22, 1996; lawful permanent residents who are active duty members or veterans of the U.S. armed forces or a spouse or a child of a veteran or active duty service member; and refugees admitted under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Most able-bodied people between the ages of 18 and 60 must register for work to qualify for food stamps. Many people may be required to participate in an employment or training program. Some college students also may be eligible.

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