<p class="p1"><span class="s1">As reported this week by the USDA, nearly 4 million Americans have dropped out of the SNAP (food stamp) program since President Trump’s first month in office. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><strong><span class="s1">The decline puts SNAP enrollment at its lowest level since November 2009.</span></strong></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Enrollment peaked in 2013 during the Obama Administration but started to decline following a series of laws requiring SNAP recipients to work, volunteer, take classes, or participate in job training. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Other factors in the decline include further reform efforts by the Trump Administration and economic growth following the GOP’s tax reform package.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“A central theme of the Trump Administration has been to expand prosperity for all Americans, which includes helping people lift themselves out of pervasive poverty,” says Agriculture Sec. Sonny Perdue. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Imposing work requirements in government assistance programs “restores the dignity of work to a sizable segment of our population, while it’s also respectful of the taxpayers who fund the program.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">SNAP enrollment has also declined in response to a proposed policy that would block legal immigrants from gaining permanent residence status if they participate in welfare programs. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Enrollment in SNAP by new immigrants has dropped 10% in the past five years. </span></p>