Millions of people who receive food coupons could soon see smaller advantages or even be expelled from the program due to changes that are starting to deploy the “big” big “, the Republican tax and expenses, according to several analyzes of the federal government and groups of reflection on public policies.
About 2.4 million people, or around 6% of registrants, could lose access to the additional nutritional assistance program (SNAP), in an average month, due to changes in the new law, which include stricter work requirements, the Budget Budget Office of the Congress Congress Congress estimated last month.
Millions of others will see their amounts of monthly services shrink due to other modifications mandated by law, such as a new restriction on the way in which the advantages of an individual are calculated, he added. The total pool of people who will either be cut off from Snap or will see smaller monthly advantages could reach 22.3 million US families, according to a July analysis of the urban institute.
About 42 million people in 22.3 million households received food coupons in 2023, according to to a report by the American Department of Agriculture on the Program.
While SNAP is funded by the USDA, each US state is responsible for administering the program to its residents, the administrative costs divided between federal governments and states. Some states are already beginning to implement some of the restrictions on food coupons in the new law, such as Pennsylvania, which obliges the stricter working rules From November 1.
Changes arrive at a precarious time for many, with Grocery costs continue to increase and poverty rates increasing for the elderly and black Americans, according to New Census. The defenders of anti-chasers warn that the reduction in the advantages of the Snap could worsen food insecurity, undergo one of the most effective safety nets in the credited country to have raised 3.6 million people in poverty last year, according to to American census data.
“We are deeply concerned about the fact that the cutting cuts will lead to an increase in hunger,” CBS Moneywatch Carolyn Vega, associated director of policies to share our strength, told CBS. “You look at households that do not have much additional room for maneuver in their budget, which makes each dollar very precious to extend this food budget.”
Monitoring the impact of these cutting cuts on food insecurity because the changes take place during the months and years to come, given on September 20 of the US Department of Agriculture on September 20 announcement that he interrupts his annual report on food security of households, which measures if American families have access to healthy foods.
The USDA said it is not used for the report to be “redundant, expensive, politicized and foreign” and leads to “fear”. But the defenders of the anti-hunters say that the suppression of the report could ultimately obscure the impact of the republican cuts on the food coupons program.
“I do not see how it is redundant – the USDA publishes the only report on food insecurity,” said Vega. “It simply tells me that they do not want to see the results of the bill of reconciliation”, referring to the “great, beautiful” law of the law and the expenses of the republican.
The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comments on this complaint.
New work requirements
New Work requirements Because the recipients snap take effect as the Labor market standsLifting the risk that more people can lose access to food coupons under the stricter rules mandated by republican law, according to defenders.
“It is a difficult workforce at the moment, and the work requirements are without any support,” CBS Moneywatch Gina Plata-Nino told CBS a food coupons from the anti-avocado defense group. “Our most vulnerable will have even less access to resources.”
The new working rules expand what the federal government considers that the so-called “valid adults without dependents” or Abawds, who are adults without young children who must prove that they are working, volunteering or embarking on an education or training program for at least 20 hours per week to qualify for good food.
Previously, the work requirements only applied to people aged 18 to 54, but the new law pushes 64 years.
People who do not meet the work requirements will be limited to receiving food coupons for three months within three years.
“Right next to it, these are veterans, young people who come from family care – think about what it means to be accommodation, trying to get a job when you don’t have a place to take a shower,” said Plata -Nino. “Again, these populations will be worse.”
Work requirements have been defended by republican legislators because they say that the rules encourage people to be kept or engaged in the community in exchange for food aid.
But anti-scheme defenders argue that the rules often deposit program people because they may have difficulty submitting documents. Others point out that low -income workers may find it difficult to obtain enough hours from their employers to meet new federal requirements, in particular given the proliferation of Planning “just in time”Who means that workers in short films to reduce costs for employers.
Before the changes, most of the beneficiaries of Snap who had to work did it, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priories.
Stricter help calculations
Under the new law on GOP taxes and expenses, there are other changes in the SNAP program that could reduce the advantages for millions.
For example, SNAP candidates can deduct their public service costs from their income when calculating their advantages, which can help increase their powers of food stamp. However, the new law now prevents food keepers from counting Internet spending in the costs of their households when determining advantages. This change came into force as soon as the law was signed on July 4 by President Trump.
“About 65% of participating households will see their advantage drop by $ 10 per month” due to the exclusion of the use of Internet costs to calculate the services, said Vega.
“This is a relatively low amount, but for a household facing the increase in grocery costs and faced with difficult decisions, $ 10 can make a difference,” she added.
In the longer term, there are additional changes that could reduce the capacity of states to provide food coupons, such as a change in financial year 2027 demanding that states cover 75% of administrative costs, compared to 50% now. Under the Big Beautiful Bill Act, states with high error rates – such as sur- and subpaids of SnAP advantages – will also have to provide more funding for the program, from 2028.
According to Vega, a concern is whether states will have the financial resources to cover these additional costs.
“It is an unexplored territory,” she said. “We fear that some states may decide that they cannot take this level of responsibility and will not participate in Snap.”