The Trump administration is pushing to require more recipients of government aid to work for the benefits, according to CNN.
Trump's initial 2018 budget proposal, outlined in March, sought to sharply reduce spending for Medicaid, food stamps and student loan subsidies, among other programs.
Regarding the welfare system, Trump, who wants a more restrictive policy, has said "people are taking advantage of the system."
And last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent a letter to all state food stamp coordinators listing three key areas of focus. The first one: self-sufficiency. The other areas the agency cited are rooting out waste, fraud and abuse and providing good customer service.
Agency leaders say that SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] was created to provide people with the help they need to feed themselves and their families, but it was not intended to be a permanent lifestyle.
"The American dream has never been to live on government benefits," wrote Brandon Lipps, the agency's Food and Nutrition Service administrator. "People who can work should work. We must facilitate the transition for individuals and families to become independent, specifically by partnering with key stakeholders in the workforce development community and holding our recipients accountable for personal responsibility."
CNN Money reports 41.3 million people receive food stamps. The current food stamp program requires childless adults to work, and in some states parents are required to work.
In households that receive SNAP and have at least one non-disabled adult, 58 percent are employed and 82 percent worked in the year prior to or after enrollment, according to the left-leaning Center for American Progress.
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Cox Media Group
