One Big Beautiful Bill cuts SNAP by $186 billion, the largest reduction in history

For the first time in SNAP's history, states will be required to pay a portion of benefit costs — not just administrative costs — starting in fiscal year 2028. The amount each state owes depends on its payment error rate: states with error rates of 6% to less than 10% pay 5% of benefit costs; states at 10% or higher pay 15%. Only eight states — Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming — had error rates below 6% in 2024.

States' share of SNAP administrative costs rises from 50% to 75% starting in fiscal year 2027. A Commonwealth Fund analysis found that approximately $128 billion in federal costs will shift to states over 10 years, many of which do not have the funds to meet the required cost-share.

Work requirements now apply to adults up to age 64, up from age 54 under prior law. Adults 55-64 must work, participate in job training, or perform community service for at least 20 hours per week to receive SNAP benefits for more than three months in a 36-month period.

The law eliminates work requirement exemptions that previously protected homeless individuals, veterans, and adults aged 18-24 who had aged out of foster care. The Urban Institute estimated nearly 3 million young adults were made vulnerable to losing SNAP benefits by this provision alone.

The law bars USDA from conducting reevaluations of the 'Thrifty Food Plan' — the basket of foods used to calculate SNAP benefit levels — to increase benefits beyond the annual cost-of-living (CPI) adjustment. In 2021, a Biden-era Thrifty Food Plan update raised benefits by about 21%. The new law prevents similar updates.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, confirmed by the Senate in 2025, has defended the changes as promoting 'self-sufficiency' and reducing 'dependency.' Critics including the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Urban Institute argue the cuts will reduce food access for millions of low-income Americans, rural families, elderly people, and people with disabilities.

SNAP currently serves nearly 42 million Americans in roughly 18 million households. Studies consistently show that SNAP benefits reduce hunger, improve infant health outcomes, increase economic mobility for children, and generate roughly $1.50-1.80 in economic activity per dollar spent — making cuts economically as well as nutritionally consequential.

One Big Beautiful Bill cuts SNAP by $186 billion, the largest reduction in history

Key People

Brooke Rollins

Mike Johnson

Sharon Parrott

Stacy Dean

Lynn Budd

Key Concepts

Appropriations Clause

Block Grant

Federalism

Taxing and Spending Power

Claims & Perspectives

True

Disputed

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