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By Aliss Higham
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Senate Republicans have released their version of President Donald Trump's spending bill, which includes sweeping changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Why It Matters
The Senate voted on Saturday to advance the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes changes to the program's funding structure and new work requirements for recipients.
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The reforms have been severely criticized by proponents of the program, also known as food stamps, which helps some 40 million Americans pay for groceries with monthly benefit allowances. Republicans have contended that the program's rules do not serve the truly needy and argue that overall spending on welfare programs should be reduced.
Funding Changes
Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the program, are proposing to shift more of the financial burden for the food stamps program onto states. Currently, states split the administrative costs of SNAP evenly with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), while the USDA covers the full cost of the benefits.
Under the approved Senate plan, states would be allowed to choose whether to use their payment error rates from fiscal year 2025 or 2026 to determine their cost-sharing responsibilities beginning in fiscal year 2028. From fiscal year 2029 onward, each state's share would be calculated based on its average error rate over the previous three years.
States that maintain payment error rates below 6 percent would not have to contribute to benefit costs. For those above that threshold, state contributions would be capped at a maximum of 15 percent.
This would not apply to Alaska and Hawaii, both of which would receive temporary exemptions from the cost-sharing rules.
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Work Requirements
The Senate bill includes expanded work requirements, mandating that "able-bodied adults" must work up to 80 hours a month up to age 64 to receive benefits. This is a boost from the current age limit of 54.
There are exemptions for this, including parents with children under 14, pregnant women, certain Native Americans living outside tribal lands and people "medically certified as physically or mentally unfit for employment."
Criticisms and Support
Numerous states, all led by Democratic governors, have urged Congress not to pass the cost-sharing element of the bill, citing already strained state budgets that would struggle to absorb the extra costs.
"Strained state budgets cannot backfill these cuts," a letter to congressional leaders said, "especially as Congress simultaneously proposes to slash Medicaid, disaster relief, and other federally-funded safety net programs."
The governors also warned that states might need to bow out of the program completely because of affordability concerns, "potentially cutting off millions of Americans from this vital assistance."
Republicans have contended that the program is plagued by fraud and that funds have been mismanaged, resulting in SNAP beneficiaries being over or underpaid. In the 2022 fiscal year, the latest year for which USDA data is available, 11.54 percent of all SNAP payments were improper.
On June 29, the White House said the "mission of the program has failed" and that the bill "promotes work, responsibility, and restores SNAP to serve the truly needy."
Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, who sits in the Senate Agriculture Committee, has not directly addressed the Senate provisions that were advanced this week but has previously criticized "sloppy state management" while calling for tighter oversight of SNAP with the introduction of the Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act.
What People Are Saying
The White House said in a memo published on June 29: "The One Big Beautiful Bill protects and strengthens SNAP. Right now, almost three-quarters of able-bodied adults without dependents on SNAP have no earned income and the fraud rate is high. The mission of the program has failed: SNAP was intended to be temporary help for those who encounter tough times. Now, it's become so bloated that it is leaving fewer resources for those who truly need help. We are committed to preserving SNAP for the truly needy."
Darcy Milburn, the director of Social Security and health care policy at the Arc of the United States, previously told Newsweek: "Shifting responsibility for funding SNAP onto states would upend state budgets. SNAP is an optional program for states, so state governments may decide to address this fiscal challenge by reducing SNAP benefits, restricting eligibility, or even opting out of SNAP entirely."
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities think tank said in its analysis of the Senate proposals: "The Senate Agriculture Committee proposal would slash billions in federal funding for food assistance and impose those costs on states for the first time. This would likely lead many states to cut food assistance for low-income families, worsening hunger and undermining SNAP's ability to meet greater need when the economy weakens. States could even end SNAP altogether if they decide the costs they would bear are too great."
Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa told the National Review earlier in June: "Bureaucratic blunders, lax oversight, and sloppy state management are leaving billions on the table. We need to snap back overpayments, hold states accountable, and ensure every error is counted—no exceptions. With $36 trillion in debt, we cannot afford to continue allowing billions in SNAP errors to be swept under the rug."
What Happens Next
If the bill passes the Senate, it will head back to the House of Representatives for final approval before heading to the president's desk to be signed into law.
Are you a SNAP recipient worried about cuts to the program? Email a.higham@newsweek.com.
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