Policy Brief (SNAP) @HifsaShaukat

AEB 4242: Policy Brief Total points: 120

Due: 11:59pm on October 26, 2020.

DESCRIPTION: For this assignment you will write a policy brief on the topic presented below. The goal of the policy brief is to convince the target audience of the urgency of the current problem and the need to adopt the preferred alternative or course of action outlined and therefore, serve as an impetus for action. TOPIC: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest nutrition assistance program funded by the federal government. The 2018 Farm Bill reauthorized SNAP despite the growing debate related to program spending. About 76% of the 2018 Farm Bill spending is devoted to the nutrition title, of which SNAP makes up the majority of spending. About 95% of SNAP funding is provided by the federal government and is spent on program benefits. The other program costs are related to determining SNAP eligibility and are covered by the government at the state and the federal levels. One of the issues that has been particularly contentious is SNAP work requirements. Current rules: SNAP program participants receive their benefits on an Electronic Benefit Transfer card, which works like a debit card that can be used to buy groceries at authorized locations. SNAP eligibility is determined based on income. Able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) under 50 years old with no mental or physical health issues have to satisfy additional requirements to receive SNAP benefits - ABAWDs have to work for 20 hours a week for 3 months during a 3-year period. States can request a waiver of this requirement in areas with high and sustained unemployment rates or where there are not enough jobs, therefore providing additional months of SNAP benefits. Revised rules: USDA made the following revisions to the current rules. First, USDA made the work requirements more restrictive and limited the ability of the states to obtain waivers. This policy was change was scheduled to go into an effect on April 1, 2020, however, was put on pause. An estimated 700,000 ABAWDs would lose SNAP benefits under the revised rule according to USDA1. The analysis form the Bookings Institute suggests that close to 1.3 million people would lose SNAP benefits2 This would result in reducing the SNAP spending by an estimated $7.9 billion over a 5-year period. California, Florida, New York and Texas have the larges numbers of ABAWDs and would be most affected. This rule will also impose additional administrative costs on these states to track and verify work requirements. Second, USDA is also considering implementing a Harvest Box approach to providing SNAP benefits. In this proposal, SNAP participants receiving $90/month or more in program benefits (about 81% of SNAP households) would receive a box of US produced food instead of their SNAP benefits that they could use on food purchases in the grocery stores.

1 District of Columbia, et al. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, et al., Civil Action No. 20-119 (2020). 2 Bauer, L., Parsons, J., Shambaugh, J. 2020. Who stands to lose if the final SNAP work requirement rule takes effect?

The Brookings Institute. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/research/who-stands-to-lose-if-the-final-snap-

work-requirement-rule-takes-effect

Current situation: A group of attorneys general from 20 states filed a lawsuit against USDA on the grounds that SNAP changes regarding work requirements and ability of states to request wavers violate the initial intent of the program, will cause damage to local economies and place substantial administrative burdens on the states. The proposed changes were temporary halted due to a preliminary injunction issued by the US District Court for Washington D.C. The administration is likely to appeal this ruling. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act removed work requirements for the duration of the pandemic, but the new rules will go into effect once this national health emergency is over. The Harvest Box proposal also has not yet gone into effect. ASSIGNMENT: Imagine that you are working at USDA and you are tasked with conducting additional analysis on the two proposed policy changes related to SNAP. Your goal is to (1) research the effectiveness of current SNAP program, (2) understand the proposed changes, (3) use research and data you find you argue whether USDA should continue with its proposed policy changes as they related to work requirements for ABAWDs and the Harvest Box proposal. Therefore, you will need to take a position and argue either for or against these proposed changes. The choice is up to you on whether you argue for or against these proposed changes, however, you need to ensure that your position is well-supported by research and economic evidence. LENGTH: Your policy brief should be 3-4 pages single-spaced using a 12-point Times New Roman font and 1’’ margins, not including reference list or any figures/tables/graphics that you may include in the appendix. EVALUATION CRITERIA: Policy briefs will be evaluated based (1) content in each section of the policy brief; (2) effective use of sound arguments for or against SNAP program changes and quantitative/qualitative facts that support your arguments; (3) writing style (i.e. your policy brief should be well-written, well-formatted, without typos and English grammar errors; (4) proper citation of your sources. SOURCES OF INFORMATION: As UF students, you can have access to almost all scholarly articles you can find on google scholar and you can access them through the UF library. In addition to scholarly articles, for this policy brief, you can use reports, white papers and reliable news sources. Remember that the facts you include in your policy brief should come from reliable sources. CITING YOUR SOURCES: All sources of information used for the policy brief should be properly cited in text and in your reference list. Please see additional guidance on how to cite your sources here https://academic.oup.com/documentlibrary/ajae/guide.pdf PLAGIARISM: Your assignment will be checked for plagiarism through Turnitin. Keep in mind that any information or thoughts that are not your own, need to be properly cited. This means that using information for a policy brief from a source without citing it, is considered plagiarism.

TIPS FOR WRITING A POLICY BRIEF: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and- tools/policy-briefs/; https://post.parliament.uk/how-to-write-a-policy-briefing/ STRUCTURE OF POLICY BRIEF: Please make sure to your policy brief includes the elements outlined below. Title: you can choose any relevant title for your brief. Executive summary: A short overview and summary of your policy brief, highlighting your position and key arguments/facts supporting your position.

Introduction & Background: Context of the issue and an explanation of the problem and its significance. Provide background, current status, affected stakeholder groups and various interests involved in this issue. Include support as needed, including references to economic studies and other publications if relevant.

Information Pertinent to the Issue: This may pertain to current laws needing to be changed or lack of necessary regulations, current debate about the issue, and/or data about the issue, reasons for urgency of the issue and why SNAP program changes may be necessary.

Responses and Policy options: What has been done (or proposed) about the issue so far? Have other organizations addressed it? Are there any other pending legislative or regulatory proposals? (include support as needed)? What other policy options exist and how they compare to the USDA’s current proposed changes.

Impact of the proposed legislation: What the impacts of USDA proposed SNAP changes? Will there be any groups within the US who may substantially gain or lose due to these changes? How will SNAP changes impact Florida residents specifically? What are the benefits or drawbacks of the proposed SNAP changes? What are the costs and benefits of this these changes? Do the costs outweigh the benefits?

Recommendations: List reasons for why the USDA should or should not pursue the SNAP program changes it proposes. This can include arguments for why SNAP changes would benefit or would be detrimental/too costly to the people living in Florida and in the US.

References: Use endnotes or in-text citations.

Appendices: any graphs, tables or figures should be placed in the appendix.