A final regulation will be issued after a 60-day public comment period.ДЄs of April, 36 million Americans received food stamps, with an average monthly benefit of $121 per person, according to the Department of Agriculture. The proposed restrictions would eliminate food stamps for 3 million people at an average annual savings of $2.5 billion, Lipps said. Other than cash, the only welfare benefits that would qualify are subsidized employment, work supports such as transportation, and child care, Lipps said. The proposed regulations, to be released Tuesday, would only allow automatic enrollment of people who receive welfare benefits worth at least $50 a month on an ongoing basis for at least six months. The Trump administration rule would rein in statesвЂ™ ability to enroll recipients earning more than 130% of the federal poverty guidelines - in most cases capping eligibility to an annual income of $32,640 for a family of four.ДЇorty states and the District of Columbia currently use alternative eligibility criteria that allow participants in some federally funded welfare programs to automatically receive food stamps as long as their income is less than double the poverty level.Д«randon Lipps, an acting deputy undersecretary in the Agriculture Department, told reporters in a conference call previewing the regulatory changes that in some cases states enroll residents for food stamps even though they are receiving federal welfare benefits of minimal value - including brochures. вЂњThis rule would take food away from families, prevent children from getting school meals, and make it harder for states to administer food assistance,вЂќ the Michigan senator added.

Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the Agriculture DepartmentвЂ™s action вЂњis yet another attempt by this administration to circumvent Congress and make harmful changes to nutrition assistance that have been repeatedly rejected on a bipartisan basis.вЂќ

And yet it moves stamps