Trump’s Proposed Food Stamp Cutback , Halted by Federal Judge . In December of 2019, the Department of Agriculture proposed work requirements for food stamp recipients . that would have disqualified about 688,000 people from getting help with food. According to Secretary Sonny Perdue, , the changes were made “in order to restore the dignity of work to a sizable segment of our population and be respectful of the taxpayers who fund the program.”. On Sunday, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell struck down the rule. [The change] radically and abruptly alters decades of regulatory practice, leaving States scrambling and exponentially increasing food insecurity for tens of thousands of Americans, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell, via NBC News. Judge Howell also added that one estimate from May 2020 found food stamp “rosters have grown by over 17 percent with over 6 million new enrollees,” largely due to COVID-19. According to a study conducted by Columbia University researchers, over 8 million Americans have reached poverty levels since May
