The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a rule that would end a shortcut states use to decide SNAP eligibility, and the department’s own estimate shows 3.2 million households, or 6.3 million people, would lose benefits. The proposal was set to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday. SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, helps low income households buy groceries and was once known as food stamps.
The shortcut is called broad based categorical eligibility. In 46 states, it lets a household qualify for SNAP automatically when it receives certain non cash services, instead of having officials check its income and assets case by case. The USDA proposal would eliminate it. Newsweek reports that SNAP would then go only to households receiving traditional cash welfare through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. USDA says the shortcut has been stretched beyond what Congress intended, which was to cut paperwork for people already found eligible. In the proposal, the department calls it “irresponsible to Congress and the taxpayer” to support rules that allow millionaires to receive benefits. A USDA spokesperson said the shortcut “has bloated the welfare rolls for decades” and called correcting what the spokesperson described as a loophole “long overdue.”
According to the Washington Sun, the department projects that the 6.3 million people would lose benefits in fiscal 2029, the first year the rule would be fully in effect, and that federal benefit spending would fall by about $44.6 billion over five years. The same reporting says about 1.78 million children would lose automatic eligibility for free school meals, although about 97 percent of them would still qualify based on their household income. It also says roughly 42,000 children could lose Summer EBT, a summer grocery benefit, and 5,500 people could lose eligibility for WIC, the nutrition program for pregnant women, infants and young children.
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A second USDA proposal would write the work rule changes from the 2025 budget law, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, into regulation, according to Newsweek. It would extend the three month time limit for adults who do not meet work requirements to people up to age 64, up from 55. Parents would be exempt only if they have a child under 14, down from under 18. The proposal would also end temporary exceptions for homeless adults, veterans and young adults who aged out of foster care. The Washington Sun reports that Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden signed the rule.
Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, called the move “heartless and cruel” and said it would take food assistance from millions of elderly Americans and children. She urged House Republicans to join Democrats in opposing it.
A proposed rule is not law. Newsweek reports that USDA is accepting public comments on both proposals for 30 days before deciding how to proceed, and the final version could differ from what was proposed. The department tried a similar change to categorical eligibility in 2019 and withdrew it in 2021 under the Biden administration. Nothing changes for current benefits unless a final rule is issued, and a state SNAP office is the place to confirm how the rules apply to a specific household.
