House Republicans Propose Spending Cuts to SNAP Food Program

WASHINGTON—The House Committee on Agriculture on May 12 released a proposed bill intending to cut more than $230 billion of public spending over 10 years, including major cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The committee’s draft legislation would make eligibility requirements stricter and require states to share a greater burden of the cost. The committee estimated savings of $290 billion from the legislation.

SNAP, colloquially known as food stamps, is a federal program in partnership with states that subsidizes the purchase of groceries by low-income families and individuals, with the goal of ensuring a nutritious diet for low-income Americans.

Republicans have long criticized the program—arguing that it disincentivizes people from seeking higher-income employment, which might end their eligibility—and have sought to alter it by imposing “work requirements,” among other reforms.

“For far too long, the SNAP program has drifted from a bridge to support American households in need to a permanent destination riddled with bureaucratic inefficiencies, misplaced incentives, and limited accountability,” the committee’s chairman, Rep. Glenn Thompson Jr. (R-Pa.), said in a statement accompanying the bill.

He added that the legislation would be “encouraging work, cracking down on loopholes exploited by states, and protecting taxpayer dollars.”

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The proposal released by the committee forms part of a sweeping policy bill to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda. The panel was instructed to find $230 billion in cuts to offset spending in other parts of the bill.

Work requirements for SNAP are also set to become more stringent under the proposal. The legislation would prevent “able-bodied adults without dependents” from receiving waivers for SNAP benefits, by broadening the age range for work requirements and limiting waivers to “caregivers of children under 7.”

“Despite a time limit and work requirement enshrined in law for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) on SNAP, only 28 percent of these individuals have earned income from work,” the committee wrote in an explanation of the changes.

“These are able-bodied Americans that we need to work, especially when there are more than seven million open jobs across the country ... Congress must act to restore integrity to work requirements in SNAP.”

Other reforms to the program include limits on increasing SNAP benefits beyond inflation, abolishing an anti-obesity education program for beneficiaries, and limiting eligibility to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, which would prevent illegal immigrants from claiming benefits.

Democrats on the committee have criticized the legislation.

“Slashing $230 billion from SNAP will take food away from seniors, children, veterans and people with disabilities when costs are already too high. These cuts also drive a stake into the heart of the farm economy,” Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) said in a statement before the bill was released.

“A cut of this size would take $30 billion in revenue away from family farmers who grow our food.”

Craig is the committee’s ranking member and is running for U.S. Senate in 2026.

Even if the legislation is enacted this year, the reforms would take effect over time, which means that SNAP beneficiaries would not be immediately affected. The new state cost-sharing, for instance, would take effect in fiscal year 2028, and many provisions would require the Department of Agriculture to promulgate new regulations that could take several years to finalize.