Senate referee greenlights GOP's updated SNAP proposal in ‘big, beautiful bill'
A Republican effort that would require states to cover a share of food benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the first time can now move forward after recent decision from the Senate's rules referee.
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled a revised proposal from the Senate complied with the chamber's Byrd Rule, days after she rejected the GOP's previous 'state cost-share' proposal.
As part of a sweeping plan to advance President Trump's tax agenda and reduce some federal spending, Republicans sought to require states to cover some of the cost of SNAP benefits — which are currently completely funded by the federal government — if they have a payment error rate above 6 percent beginning in fiscal 2028. The proposal in the megabill would also allow states with rates below that level to continue paying zero percent.
Under the updated blueprint approved by the parliamentarian, Republicans say states would be allowed to 'choose either the Fiscal Year 2025 or Fiscal Year 2026 payment error rate to calculate their state match requirement that begins in Fiscal Year 2028.'
'For Fiscal Year 2029 and following, the state match will be calculated using the payment error rate from three fiscal years prior,' the lawmakers added in a statement from the GOP-led Senate Agriculture Committee. 'A state must contribute a set percentage of the cost of its SNAP benefits if its payment error rate exceeds six percent.
Republicans also noted that the proposal will help incentivize states to get their payment error rates down.
'This paves the way for important reforms that improve efficiency and management of SNAP while encouraging responsible use of taxpayer dollars,' Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-Ark.) said in a statement.
'In 2023 alone, over $10 billion was misspent when administering this program – underscoring the need for stronger accountability,' Boozman continued. 'Our commonsense approach encourages states to adopt better practices, reduce error rates, be better stewards of taxpayer dollars, and prioritize the resources for those who truly need it.'
However, Democrats have leveled sharp criticism against the effort, which some argue could lead to states cutting benefits on their own by shifting billions of dollars in costs to states.
'Congressional Republicans have chosen to cut food assistance for millions of Americans to give tax breaks to billionaires,' Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), the top Democrat on the agriculture committee, said in a statement on Friday.
'Instead of working with Democrats to lower costs for Americans, Congressional Republicans are doubling-down on shifting costs to states that they simply cannot bear,' she added. 'We'll keep fighting these proposals that raise grocery costs and take food away from millions of people, including seniors, children, and veterans.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
34 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins: Farmers Win With the One Big Beautiful Bill
Our nation's farmers and ranchers are ready to put America First. Over 97 percent of our agricultural counties voted for President Donald Trump last November, and he will never forget their commitment to his agenda. Now is the time to put that agenda into effect. The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) unleashes economic growth and restores fiscal sanity. With the largest tax cut for middle- and working-class Americans in history, an increased child tax credit, new Trump savings account for newborns, historic tax relief for seniors, and no tax on tips and overtime, every American family wins with the OBBB. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins takes a question from the audience after signing three new SNAP food choice waivers for the states of Idaho, Utah, and Arkansas in her office at the United States... U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins takes a question from the audience after signing three new SNAP food choice waivers for the states of Idaho, Utah, and Arkansas in her office at the United States Department of Agriculture Whitten Building on June 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C. MoreAnd this bill will serve no one more than our nation's farm families. The OBBB cuts taxes for farmers by over $10 billion and prevents the death tax from hitting 2 million family-owned farms that would otherwise see their exemptions cut in half. Along with bolstering the farm safety net for producers to protect against significant economic losses, which has not been updated since 2014, the OBBB also makes risk management tools more affordable at a time of significant risk because of the previous administration's neglect of our rural communities. The bill also helps the 98 percent of farming operations that are taxed according to their owners' individual tax rate by protecting the small business deduction. Because the agricultural industry leverages one-fifth of all small business deductions across the American economy, the OBBB's doubling of Section 179 deductions to $2.5 million will provide major relief for farming operations across the country. The extension of the Section 199A Qualified Business Income Deduction will also save farmers thousands of dollars every year. The OBBB also realigns the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to President Trump's mission of cutting waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal bureaucracy. On any given day, USDA spends nearly $265 million on SNAP benefits alone, not including the 15 other nutrition programs at the department. In 2023, over $11 billion in erroneous SNAP payments was issued. The bill is centered on increased accountability, on both the individual recipient and the state administering the program. To address this waste of taxpayer dollars, the OBBB implements a state cost-share program proportionate to state payment error rates, which will incentivize states to distribute SNAP funds only to those who qualify. The bill also expands work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents. Welfare should be a helping hand, not a pathway to lifelong dependency. With over 4 million jobs available across the country, SNAP work requirements will restore dignity through work. Under President Trump's leadership, this careless use of taxpayer money is ending so USDA can refocus its resources on revitalizing rural communities and uplifting the farm families that provide the food, fuel, and fiber for our great nation. And the OBBB finally ends taxpayer subsidization of mass migration by ensuring only U.S. citizens or green card holders are eligible for SNAP. Our food assistance programs are funded by Americans for Americans. This bill puts the American people first by providing assistance to those in need while doing right by hardworking taxpayers. Over the next decade, the OBBB increases the farmer safety net, crop insurance, and trade programs. These changes to farm support will allow USDA to return to our core mission of putting Farmers First and restoring rural prosperity across the country. At USDA, we are working every day on behalf of our farmers and ranchers to ensure President Trump's America First agenda unleashes prosperity for generations to come. Brooke L. Rollins is the 33rd United States secretary of Agriculture. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Speeds Up Tax Bill Deadline as Tentative SALT Deal Reached
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump amped up pressure on Congress to speed passage of his tax-cut bill as Republicans reached a tentative deal on the state and local tax deduction, one of the key sticking points in the negotiations. Philadelphia Transit System Votes to Cut Service by 45%, Hike Fares US Renters Face Storm of Rising Costs Squeezed by Crowds, the Roads of Central Park Are Being Reimagined Mapping the Architectural History of New York's Chinatown Sprawl Is Still Not the Answer 'The House of Representatives must be ready to send it to my desk before July 4th — We can get it done,' Trump said on Truth Social Friday. The new deadline — before July 4 — is somewhat of a reversal for the president who, hours earlier told reporters that it wouldn't be the 'end-all' if Congress missed the self-imposed Independence Day goal. On Friday afternoon, the tentative SALT deal suggested that Republicans may have momentum on their side. The agreement involved raising the limit on the state and local tax deduction to $40,000 a year for a five-year period, Senator John Hoeven told reporters. New York Republican Mike Lawler, a key negotiator, later confirmed the deal and told Bloomberg TV he believes it 'will pass.' The new cap would provide complete SALT relief to more than 90% of his constituents, he estimated. Senators said the tentative plan is to begin voting on the bill Saturday midday. It wasn't immediately clear whether SALT Caucus member Nick LaLota of New York would back the deal. His vote could end up being needed due to the narrow Republican majority in the House. GOP lawmakers from New York, New Jersey and California have pressed to preserve a deal included in the House bill that increased the deduction cap to $40,000, up from the $10,000 in current law, for 10 years. The original Senate draft kept the write-off at $10,000. The latest deal retains a House proposal to phase out the deduction for taxpayers with at least $500,000 in income, a person familiar said, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. Republicans also plan to drop new limits they had sought on pass-through businesses' deductions of state and local tax taxes, the person said. Until now, some business owners in most states haven't actually needed to abide by the SALT cap that applies to everyone else, thanks to legal workarounds approved by legislatures in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California and dozens of other states. The House version of Trump's massive tax and spending package put curbs on those workarounds. The SALT provision has been one of several holdups for the Trump tax bill in the Senate. Senate Republican Leader John Thune is also trying to navigate competing demands from conservatives and moderates on social safety net cuts and the elimination of clean energy tax credits. He will need to resolve most of the disputes to secure the votes he needs to pass the bill. The massive tax and spending package is the legislative centerpiece of Trump's economic agenda. The Senate version makes permanent individual and business tax breaks enacted in 2017, while adding temporary new breaks for tipped and overtime workers, seniors and car-buyers. The bill would add hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending for the military, border patrol and immigration enforcement. To partly pay for the revenue losses, the bill reduces spending on Medicaid health insurance for the poor and disabled, food assistance for low-income Americans and financial aid to college students. The measure would also avert a US payment default as soon as August by raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. --With assistance from Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu. (Updates with Lawler in fifth paragraph) America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried How to Steal a House Inside Gap's Last-Ditch, Tariff-Addled Turnaround Push Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags Apple Test-Drives Big-Screen Movie Strategy With F1 ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Wall Street Journal
37 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
WSJ Reporter on the Senate's Race to Pass Trump's 'Big, Beautiful' Bill
WSJ Reporter on the Senate's Race to Pass Trump's 'Big, Beautiful' Bill Senate Republicans are attempting to work through disagreements and pass President Trump's 'one big, beautiful bill' ahead of their July 4 deadline. WSJ's Richard Rubin explains where the tax-and-spending bill stands. Photo:
