Trump Administration Proposes Changes to the 'Official Poverty Measure'

"President Donald Trump’s administration may alter the way it determines the national poverty threshold, putting Americans living on the margins at risk of losing access to welfare programs," reports Justin Sink.

The change would affect the calculation of the "official poverty measure," explains Sink. "The formula has been used for decades to determine whether people qualify for certain federal programs and benefits."

"The possible change appears to be the latest effort by the Trump administration to make it harder to access welfare programs. Last year, Trump signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to more strictly enforce current work requirements for welfare recipients, and propose additional, more stringent requirements that could further reduce eligibility," according to Sink.

As noted by Sink, former President Barack Obama proposed changes to the cost-of-living adjustments in Social Security and other retirement programs that would have has similar effects, but the proposal didn't make it past Congress.