ICYMI: Ricketts on Fox Business: SNAP Next Step Act “A Win-Win for Everybody”

July 18, 2023

OMAHA, NE – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), joined FOX Business’ Mornings with Maria to discuss his new legislation, the SNAP Next Step Act, that will be introduced today.

Watch the video here.

Senator Ricketts: “One of the things we did in Nebraska that was very successful was we helped our families on SNAP – the food stamp program – to get into better jobs so that they wouldn’t have to have food stamps anymore. What we’re trying to do is bring this solution which was proven in Nebraska, to Washington, D.C. and that’s the legislation I’ll be introducing. It will be letting people know they can use the administrative fees in the SNAP program – so it’s not costing any additional money – to bring families who are on SNAP into a program where they can get job training (and) help with writing a resume, preparing for job interviews, and looking for a job.

“And in Nebraska what we found was, of the hundreds of families that participated, about 60% were able to get off SNAP entirely. Forty percent reduced their need for SNAP. They increased their income by $25,000 a year on average, and the average (SNAP) benefit dropped from about $508 to $179. So it’s worked here in Nebraska. It’s a great opportunity to help people not get trapped in a life of dependency and frankly, help them reduce or eliminate their need for food stamps.”

Maria Bartiromo: “So you’re saying that instead of accepting free stuff like food stamps, arm yourself with the right training to actually get a job.”

Ricketts: “Absolutely. We all know – you talk to any business today, Maria, and they will tell you the biggest concern they have is workforce. They can’t find enough people to hire. We’ve got a low unemployment rate. So let’s help people who are able to take these jobs, get the training they need to be able to take them if they need help finding a job, building a resume, all that. We’ve demonstrated here in Nebraska that we can do it. And by the way this is a huge benefit to the quality of life for the people that we help, because they go from part-time jobs to full-time jobs, working nights and weekends to working days so they can be home with their children at night. This is really a win-win for everybody.”

Bartiromo: “Senator, it’s good to have you. Thanks very much.”

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