The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) on Monday confirmed the institution of new work requirements for Tennesseans who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) in compliance with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress earlier this year.
Adults receiving SNAP benefits will now be required to complete at least 20 hours of work, volunteering, or job training each week, or 80 hours per month in order to keep their benefits, according to TDHS.
Exceptions exist for Tennesseans who are disabled, live with a child under the age of 14, care for a disabled or sick person, receive unemployment benefits, are pregnant, or are “[e]nrolled in school at least half-time.”
TDHS Commissioner Clarence H. Carter said the department was releasing the guidance so Tennesseans are prepared for any change to their benefit requirements.
“Our priority is to support our customers with the resources they need to comply with the updated requirements while maintaining access to vital nutrition assistance,” said Carter.
The new SNAP guidance does not include Tennessee’s requested waiver, which would prohibit using the federal program to pay for processed food and carbonated, sweetened beverages.
While not formally approved by the federal government, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. applauded Governor Bill Lee for the request earlier this year.
“The only way, for years, Republicans and Democrats have been talking about how to reorganize the healthcare system, whether it should be private insurance, single-payer, or public-private hybrid. But all of those ideas are like moving deck chairs around on the Titanic,” Kennedy said during an August event moderated by Lee. “The ship is going down, the only way that we solve this problem is by ending the chronic disease epidemic.”
Kennedy told Lee, “You’ve applied for a SNAP waiver, and this is something that I would urge every governor to do,” and explained, “We spend $45 million a day on food stamps. Eighteen percent of that goes to soda and candy. So, we are giving this population, the poorest population in our country, diabetes, and we’re paying for it again in Medicaid.”
The secretary also applauded Tennessee for its recent legislation restricting cell phone use in public schools.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
This was how the system originally rolled out. There were items restricted from purchase including alcohol, tobacco products, soda and other carbonated and sugared drinks. Candy was also prohibited. Store owners manipulated the system selling the food stamp holder restricted items but ringing them up as something else. Democrats steadily weakened the program moving it away from the initial fidelity. Waivers were granted by county social services departments to eliminate the work/school requirement. The program hurt the poor and created a class totally dependent on government assistance. For the program to work, waivers have to be closely tracked to the county, compare these on a state level. Weed out the liberal social services administrators. Benefit cards need to be replaced with food stamps. The cash benefit card, looks like credit card, further removed one from seeking to get off public assistance. The liberal left counters this stigmatizes the recipient, to the contrary it removes motivation to get off the support.
Some of the listed exceptions result in some recipients gaming the system. This is a soft form of socialism that has slowly but continually been instituted by our government. What happened to the concept of providing for oneself? I work my rear off and the government takes my hard-earned money and gives it away to others. That stinks.