Pandemic-related SNAP benefits for college students may get extended

Pandemic-related Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for college students are set to expire on June 11, and some lawmakers in Washington are pushing for an extension. 

Back in 2020, a temporary expansion of SNAP benefits for college students was put in place in a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. College students could take advantage of the perk if they either qualified for a certain program, or came from families who had trouble contributing to their student’s college costs. There has been a push to make the college SNAP benefits permanent.

Bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate to help students beyond the June 11 deadline.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) brought the bill to the Senate floor.

“With emergency COVID-19 SNAP benefits for college students set to expire next month, we need to simplify eligibility for critical SNAP benefits to combat food insecurity plaguing low-income college students across New York State and around the country,” she said in a statement.

One of the requirements the bill would eliminate are the work requirements for college students, who would qualify for SNAP funding if they were enrolled part time at a higher education institution.

If the bill is passed, 290,000 additional students would qualify for SNAP benefits in Gillibrand’s state of New York alone.

Related:House debt-ceiling plan would impact SNAP recipients

There are 120 co-sponsors linked to the bill in the House. The bill currently has no Republican backing. 

SNAP has recently been the target of Republican lawmakers. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s Limit, Save, and Grow Act, which would temporarily lift the debt limit, aims to have discretionary spending at FY 2022 levels to raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion through March 31, 2024.

In the bill, McCarthy wants to expand the additional work requirements for some who receive SNAP benefits but do not have children.

Currently, those who receive federal nutrition age between the ages of 16-59 must match one of the following: looking for work, enrolled in a SNAP employment training program, or making wages that equal 30 hours per week at the federal minimum age. Those aged 18-49 with no dependents need to work for pay, attend a training program or volunteer 80 hours a month. Those who do not meet those requirements and do not have an exemption can only receive SNAP benefits for three months over a three-year period.

McCarthy wants to raise the age window to 55, which would cut up to $120 billion in government spending over the next 10 years. The change would go into effect in 2025.

Related:Food pantries in the U.S. stretched to the limits