U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (AL-05) praised the Trump administration on Wednesday for announcing a rule that will tighten work requirements for people receiving food stamps.

Before this new rule, states had been able to get waivers exempting people in regions with unemployment higher than the national average from the work requirements. After the new rule, to get those waivers, the unemployment level in an area will need to be at least 6%.

Brooks said in a statement, “I fully support the Trump Administration’s efforts to bar able-bodied, working age Americans from receiving food stamps, SNAP, or any other food benefits they can and should be paying for with money they earn themselves.”

The USDA says their new rule “promotes work for able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 49 without dependents and does not apply to children and their parents, those over 50 years old including the elderly, those with a disability, or pregnant women.”

According to the Associated Press, “The Agriculture Department estimates the change would save roughly $5.5 billion over five years and cut benefits for roughly 688,000 SNAP recipients.”

Congressman Brooks added, “America suffered a $984 billion deficit in FY 2019. America’s accumulated debt has blown through the $23 trillion mark. Every financial guru Congress employs warns that our current financial path is unsustainable and that, as a result, America increasingly risks a debilitating national insolvency and bankruptcy.”

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.