The Aff is key for the wellbeing of queer folks – increasing welfare raises their basic living standards and overall quality of life

While much research has shed light on the high rate of economic insecurity that LGBTQ people face, the CAP survey presents additional information which shows that LGBTQ people are accessing programs that provide basic living standards at higher rates. This suggests that cuts to benefits such as nutrition assistance, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, and public housing assistance would likely disproportionately harm the LGBTQ community. One of the main ways in which Congress, state governments, and the Trump administration are attempting to cut benefits is by introducing or expanding so-called work requirements, which set strict time limits for a person to receive benefits if they are unable to find work—no matter how hard they are searching—or engaging in a qualifying training program for a certain number of hours per week.36 Research shows that these types of onerous requirements do not help people become stably employed.37 Instead, they hurt struggling workers and exacerbate the barriers they face to gainful employment, since it’s a lot harder to find and keep a job while going hungry or dealing with health issuesThese requirements may be particularly harmful to LGBTQ people.38 Under strict work requirements, LGBTQ people who are fired, laid off, or struggling to find a job due to discrimination may lose the crucial supports they need, such as nutrition assistance or health insurance. Instead of helping reduce barriers to work for LGBTQ people, work requirements would in effect punish them for facing discrimination by taking away their access to nutrition assistance, affordable health insurance, or housing assistance. This is particularly worrisome in the many states that lack a clear law prohibiting anti-LGBTQ employment discrimination, which includes 8 out of the 11 states with approved or pending work requirements for Medicaid.39 Instead of cutting these benefits, Congress and state legislators should be expanding access and providing more funding to ensure that they can better support the people who need them. Even as LGBTQ people and their families reported receiving benefits at a higher rate, there are likely more LGBTQ people who are in need of assistance than are currently receiving it. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, and public programs that provide housing assistance reach only a fraction of the population that needs them and only provide modest benefits. In addition, policies proven to help boost the wages of struggling workers, such as raising the minimum wage and fair scheduling practices, should supplement benefits to ensure that families are better able to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.40 Public programs that provide basic living standards should not take the place of employers providing their workers with a living wage and good working conditions. And passing the Equality Act—the federal bill that protects LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace, housing, credit, and public accommodations—would help eliminate some of the unique barriers that LGBTQ people face in attaining economic security.41 Lastly, federal agencies collecting data on receipt of benefits should determine whether it’s feasible to collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity. Having more data on the LGBTQ community’s receipt of these benefits would help policymakers make more informed decisions about these programs that take into account the unique needs of the populations they serve. The federal LGBT Data Inclusion Act would ensure that all federal agencies collect sexual orientation and gender identity data as appropriate in data sets and surveys, which would provide information not only on LGBTQ people’s receipt of benefits but also on their economic circumstances and unique needs.42 This would help policymakers combat the disparities that LGBTQ people face and develop solutions to boost their economic well-being. Conclusion LGBTQ people face unique barriers to economic security, and as a result, they face higher rates of poverty, food insecurity, uninsurance, unemployment, and housing insecurity, among other disparities. Unfortunately, since government agencies often do not collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity, limited data exist on the supports that LGBTQ people receive to address some of these disparities. Data from a nationally representative survey conducted by the Center for American Progress in 2017 indicate that LGBTQ people and their families generally receive benefits from programs that provide basic living standards, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, at higher rates than non-LGBTQ people and their families. These findings suggest that ongoing state and federal attacks on these benefits, including the implementation of harsh so-called work requirements, would likely disproportionately harm the LGBTQ community. This underscores the importance of opposing these benefit cuts, fighting to expand these benefits, and implementing other policies that help all people, including those who are LGBTQ, attain economic security.