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... Millions of Americans greeted the end of the government shutdown -- and the resumption of food stamp benefits -- with relief. But others are learning they could soon lose federal food aid permanently.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins directed USDA staff during the record-setting 43-day shutdown to continue ushering states toward compliance with Republicans' signature tax and spending law, which is projected to kick millions out of the nation's largest anti-hunger program in the next few months.

Those changes, combined with other provisions in the new law, will represent the most significant cuts to the social safety net in decades. And it all comes as low-income families are confronting stagnating wages that aren't keeping up with the skyrocketing cost of living " an issue that some Republicans blamed for their losses in off-year elections this month.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides an average of $6 per day for nearly 42 million people, roughly 40 percent of whom are children. Under the new law, parents and older Americans will be required to meet stricter work requirements, and states eventually will have to share in the cost of SNAP benefits, which could force further program cuts, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Tens of thousands of legal immigrants will also lose access to the program under the law. ...