The obsequiously-titled “One Big Beautiful Bill” being considered by the Senate will slash spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps, by $186 billion over 10 years through a combination of benefit cuts, more rigid eligibility and work rules, and unfunded mandates on the states. While less draconian than the $286 billion demanded by House Republicans, the cuts are a 20 percent reduction in SNAP’s roughly $100 billion in annual spending and will cause some 2 million program enrollees to lose benefits. If enacted, the cuts will be the deepest in the program’s 60-year history.
SNAP dollars help some 42 million Americans to purchase enough food to get through the month. Most SNAP households are near or below the federal poverty line ($32,150 for a family of four) and include some combination of children, the elderly and disabled. Many veterans, and a few active military families depend on SNAP.
