Republicans Considering Cutting SNAP Benefits As Part Of Deficit Reduction Plan

WASHINGTON — More than 22 million households could see their food budgets shrink as part of the Republican agenda to reduce federal spending.

Republicans are considering an array of cuts to social programs in order to save the government money, including a change to the way benefits are calculated under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

Benefits would shrink across the board under a SNAP cut included on a list, first obtained by Politico, of “spending reform options” House Republicans are looking at. The reform would change the way SNAP benefits are calculated, saving $247 billion over a decade, a reduction of about 20%. It’s one of the single largest cuts on a list that adds up to more than $5 trillion overall.

The document may be less an indication of what Republicans will actually do than an illustration of how difficult it will be for them to achieve the dramatic spending cuts envisioned by billionaire Elon Musk and the far-right lawmakers who are most vocal about cutting spending. Many of the cuts, including the change to SNAP benefits, would likely prove unpopular — even among a sizable number of House Republicans themselves.

Still, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) blasted the proposal in a statement on Friday, saying it “not only means taking food from hungry children, but also less demand for the food our farmers produce, manufacturers package, truckers haul and grocery store clerks stock on the shelves.”

Republicans have long sought changes to SNAP, which provides more than $350 per month, on average, to 22 million households. The benefits can be used for food at grocery stores, and Republicans have long complained that the program supports people in idleness, discouraging them from taking available jobs.

During a spending standoff in 2023, Republicans demanded Democrats agree with stricter “work requirements” for the program while loosening eligibility criteria for homeless people and veterans. In previous years, Republicans have struggled to agree among themselves on deeper cuts to the program.

Since President-elect Donald Trump has ruled out cuts to Social Security and Medicare, Republicans on Capitol Hill have to look elsewhere for savings. The menu circulating this month also suggests massive cuts to Medicaid, which covers health care for low-income Americans.

The SNAP cut would reform the “thrifty food plan,” which is the formula the U.S. Department of Agriculture uses for calculating benefit amounts. Republicans complained bitterly when President Joe Biden increased SNAP benefits by adjusting the thrifty food plan in 2021, essentially making permanent what had been a temporary increase enacted in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Undoing Biden’s boost would drop average benefits by about 20% across the board.

House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) proposed making it impossible for future administrations to adjust benefits so dramatically, but he stopped short of suggesting the increase be taken away. The SNAP cut is reportedly the brainchild of House Budget Committee chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas).

Trump, during his first term, also went around Congress in order to change the SNAP program, tightening eligibility rules.

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