Food stamps already have work requirements. Now, GOP lawmakers want tougher ones.

The food-stamp program already has work requirements for people the U.S. government defines as "able-bodied adults without dependents" — in other words, younger workers who aren't disabled and who don't have kids or other dependents. 

But a group of Republican lawmakers say tougher work requirements are needed to close a loophole, as well as to get more older food-stamp recipients working in exchange for their benefits.

Rep. Dusty Johnson, a Republican from South Dakota, and more than 20 other Republican lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a bill called the America Works Act, which would end a waiver program that allows states to bypass work requirements for some of their residents. Currently, 18 states are using waivers that exempt residents from work requirements, the lawmakers said in a statement.