WASHINGTON — The holiday weekend debt ceiling deal struck by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy preserves in part new work requirements for some food stamp recipients but now with exceptions for certain populations, including veterans.
The agreement released late Saturday night showed concessions from both sides — from GOP members, who wanted to tighten eligibility for not just food stamps but also low-income health care, and from the Democrats, who called such restrictions a nonstarter.
The Biden administration and the Republican House majority arrived at a compromise, titled the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the day after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned the U.S. would default if a deal wasn’t brokered by June 5.
Work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and other government benefits were a sticking point during the months of stalemate leading right up to the edge of Treasury exhausting all reserves to pay the nation’s bills.
The House is expected to vote on the deal by late evening Wednesday, after which the bill will head to the Democratic-led Senate.
The Fiscal Responsibility Act proposes additional work requirements, with a sunset date of 2030, for adults without dependents age 18 to 55, unless the recipient has veteran status, is a homeless person or is under 24 and aging out of the foster care system.
The House GOP majority...
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