Congress is debating stricter SNAP and Medicaid work requirements—but research shows they don’t work

As congressional Republicans begin to fill in the details of President Donald Trump’s economic agenda, one proposal is expanded work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. This raises a critical question: Are lawmakers forming policy through evidence-based decisions or through ideological preconceptions about poverty that ignore the complex and harsh realities low-income Americans face? From a policy perspective, work requirements encourage a punitive view of welfare—framing it as a liability rather than an integral investment in economic support for low-income communities. This piece examines recent economic research studying the efficacy of work requirements for SNAP and Medicaid on labor market outcomes and program participation rates.