Published 05:47 IST, May 23rd 2020
Joe Biden criticises Trump's decision to cut food assistance, calls it 'morally bankrupt'
Former US Vice President Joe Biden criticised President Trump's decision to cut food assistance and said the move was 'morally bankrupt'.
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Former US Vice President Joe Biden criticised President Trump's decision to cut food assistance program in the country and said the move was 'morally bankrupt'. In a tweet on Friday, Biden said that all efforts should be taken in order to ensure that no one goes hungry in America.
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'Morally bankrupt'
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), on Tuesday, stated that it was appealing a ruling that blocked the Trump administration from adding work requirements to receive the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on poor adults without children.
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Under the current rules, able-bodied adults without dependents must show they've worked at least 80 hours per month for more than three months in a 36-month period to stay in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — commonly known as food stamps system.
However, as per reports, individual states have had the ability to waive that work requirement and time limit for areas of the state that have high unemployment rates. The changes, championed by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, would take away that waiver ability from the states, starting on April 1. Estimates from the Agriculture Department set the number of people who would be removed from the program at approximately 700,000.
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In March, the USDA had stated that it would appeal a court decision blocking changes to the food stamp program, but later the Agriculture Department backed off its statement.
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05:47 IST, May 23rd 2020