President Trump Signs Executive Order That Changes Federal Aid Programs
President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order that changes the federal aid programs offered to residents of the United States. The executive order was signed with very little fanfare and has caused quite a stir since going into effect.
The order forces the recipients of welfare, low-income housing subsidies, and Medicaid to either join the workforce or be forced to lose their benefits. The executive order had been in the planning stages since 2017.
The goal of the order is “Reducing Poverty in America,” which is the official title. According to the text of the order, it is aimed at “any program that provides means-tested assistance or other assistance that provides benefits to people, households or families that have low incomes.”
A large number of the initiatives of the executive order have reportedly already been put into place by the agencies that are affected by it. This includes the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency had already started to issue waivers to governors who wanted to create stricter work requirements on recipients of Medicaid in an effort to reduce costs.
People speaking on the behalf of low-income residents said that the majority of adults who are healthy enough to work and receive aid already hold a job. They continued to say that those who don’t work aren’t healthy enough to do so.
“If you are having trouble acquiring the aid that you have applied for it is best to find out whether you are missing any requirements,” Lawrence Disparti, a social security disability attorney of the Disparti Law Group, P.A., said. “This could include health documents, financial documents, and even statements from previous employers.”
All departments of the cabinet were issued orders to create plans within 90 days that would create new work requirements on recipients who are deemed able-bodied and also block ineligible immigrants from receiving aid.
The overall goal of the order is to force departments, including federal and state officials, to take a stronger stance when it comes to recipients of aid. Millions of people currently receive aid even though they are not working but are instead volunteering their services, caring for a loved one, or are receiving training for a job.