House GOP zeroes in on SNAP with steep cuts and tighter work rules in new fiscal package

House GOP zeroes in on SNAP with steep cuts and tighter work rules in new fiscal package

US House Republicans are pushing for sweeping changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in their newly passed fiscal package, aiming to slash over $230 billion in funding over the next decade. The plan would expand work requirements, limit caregiver exemptions, and shift more financial responsibility to states — changes that critics warn could strip food aid from millions of low-income Americans, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The GOP contends the program, once called food stamps, is too liberal and not work-related enough. Now, able-bodied adults with no dependents are required to work 20 hours a week or receive more than three months' benefits within a three-year period under existing regulations. The proposed change increases the age limit for workers to be exempted from the requirement from 54 to 64 and cuts in half the number of caregiving exemptions available to people with young children.

A safety net under strain

Supported by the federal government and operated by states, SNAP offers monthly food benefits to more than 41 million individuals — roughly 12% of America's population — through prepaid cards. The benefit averaged $187.54 per individual during the last year. Usage normally spikes during economic recessions, with a high of 47.6 million participants in 2013. While figures have softened since, a record-high enrolment rate was reached in 2022: 88% of those eligible enrolled.

Costs skyrocketed in the pandemic as a result of emergency expansions, peaking at an inflation-adjusted $124.9 billion in 2021. But since those temporary measures have expired, benefit spending has declined roughly 25% from its pandemic height.

Disagreement about who's working — and who isn't

The GOP cites statistics from the Agriculture Department that indicate just 28% of childless, working-age adult recipients of SNAP earned income in 2022. Theirs is a projection that assumes stricter work requirements will prompt work and decrease dependency on government assistance.

But progressive policy circles contend that the GOP framing distorts essential facts. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities observes that 82% of such adults in 2023 earned income and that many recipients bounce through spells of work and unemployment. The group cautions nearly 11 million individuals could experience cut or eliminated food assistance under the GOP proposal.

Hospitals, schools, and community organizations that assist individuals in enrolling into SNAP fear that states with already tight budgets will be unable to make up the difference if federal funding diminishes.

Still a Senate battle ahead

The changes, proposed but not yet law and subject to a probable filibuster in the Democratic-held Senate, reflect the larger partisan split over the place of work in federal entitlements — and how budgets must be balanced without further exacerbating food insecurity in America.