States' new push: food stamp recipients must work or volunteer
During the last recession, President Obama allowed states to suspend a requirement that able-bodied adults without children work at least 20 hours per week or participate in a training program to receive benefits for more than three months.
Despite a large decrease in the unemployment rate since then, more than 40 states still do not require welfare recipients to work.
That seems to be changing, however, as a new policy went into effect in Mississippi today, requiring residents to work or volunteer 20 hours a week to qualify for food stamps.
Other states are considering similar legislation.