As the negotiations to extend the federal debt ceiling neared the early June deadline, a notable change concerning SNAP benefits, commonly known as food stamps, was inserted into the final measure. Work requirements, which have been part of the program since the 1990s, would be imposed on a larger swath of beneficiaries, just as the House-passed bill had mandated. But in the final version of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, signed into law on June 3, homeless recipients would be exempt.

That was good news to Elena Prager, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School. Prager was part of a team of economists whose research shows that SNAP work requirements have a disproportionate, adverse effect on homeless recipients.

Their study was published in February in American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. The group reports that SNAP work requirements have had “no effects on employment.” Instead, the team shows that the requirements have led to a reduction in beneficiaries, chiefly among homeless recipients with limited to no employment history.

Read the full article about SNAP work requirements by Karen McCally at Futurity.