Latest news with #CBPP
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Trump's 'big beautiful' bill will cut $186 billion from SNAP through 2035—how states might handle the changes
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps more than 42 million people afford groceries each month, making it the largest anti-hunger program in the United States. But due to President Donald Trump's tax and spending megabill signed on July 4, that support is set to shrink dramatically, experts say. The "big beautiful" bill will cut about $186 billion from SNAP funding through 2034, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. Cuts to the program and significant cost shifts to states will leave millions of low-income Americans without some or all of the food assistance they need to put meals on the table, says Katie Bergh, senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute. "For decades, SNAP has been there for low-income families, and as a result, we have largely eliminated severe hunger and malnutrition in this country," Bergh says. "But that's not a guarantee without the support that this program provides to help low-income families afford groceries." Currently, people who get SNAP benefits receive an average of $6.20 per day, distributed through an Electronic Benefit Transfer card that reloads monthly and can be used at authorized grocery stores and retailers. These amounts could decline or reach fewer people under the "big beautiful bill," Bergh says. Some of the changes to the program include: The new budget bill increases the amount of administrative costs states need to cover, and for the first time in the program's history, requires states to foot a portion of the costs for food benefits, too. Those higher costs for SNAP could threaten the future of the program in some states altogether, according to the CBPP. That's because states need to balance their budgets annually, and if a state cannot make up the percentage of SNAP it needs to cover, officials will be left with few options for making adjustments, Bergh says. The percentage of SNAP benefit costs a state will have to cover depends on its SNAP payment error rate. The error rate is the percentage of benefits incorrectly paid out by a state, by giving too much or too little to recipients. If a state's error rate is at or above 6%, it will have to cover 5% to 15% of SNAP benefit costs, determined on a sliding scale. In 2024, the average state error rate was 10.9%, according to a report from the Department of Agriculture. Any state with an error rate above 10% will have to cover 15% of its benefit costs under the "big beautiful" bill. If California has to cover 15% of benefit costs, it will owe $1.8 billion for SNAP funding in 2028, according to estimated projections from Feeding America, a national network of food service programs. Other states could owe hundreds of millions under the cost shift, Bergh says. Here's what could happen if your state can't foot the bill. To continue providing SNAP, some state officials may slash funding in other areas to make room in the budget. That could result in cuts to housing or public safety programs, according to a report from the CBPP. Tax hikes could also be on the table, Bergh says, though changes would vary based on state budgeting. States looking to cut costs may significantly restrict SNAP eligibility to reduce the number of people who qualify for the program, according to the CBPP. That could be done by adding "red tape" that makes it harder for people who are eligible for benefits to access and keep them, Bergh says. She says administrative barriers tend to impact the "most vulnerable people," such as seniors and people with disabilities, as well as working families who lack the time to go back and forth with a SNAP benefits office. In the situation that a state cannot come up with the money to compensate for the federal funding it's lost, state officials may decide it's necessary to cut SNAP entirely, Bergh says. It is not immediately clear how many states are at risk of losing benefits altogether, as error rates fluctuate from year to year and could change significantly before the benefits cost-shift to states goes into effect in October 2027. Because food banks are "already overburdened," Bergh says, "they absolutely cannot fill the hole that losing SNAP would leave in a state." That means millions of low-income families would be left without basic food security if their states lose SNAP altogether, she says. Policy centers and state officials are still awaiting additional guidance from the Department of Agriculture on the steps states need to take to comply with the new provisions and what the timeline for implementing changes will be, Bergh says. Although this is an unprecedented time, SNAP recipients should feel reassured that changes to SNAP aren't going to happen immediately, or all at once, she says. "It is very hard to say at a national level what the impacts in particular states might be," Bergh says. But, "nothing is going to change overnight." As states await updates, it's best for recipients to confirm their contact information is up to date so they don't miss any important notices, per recommendations from state officials.
Newsweek
05-08-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Map Shows How Each State Could Lose SNAP Benefits Under New Requirements
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Millions of Americans could lose some or all of their SNAP benefits due to newly approved work requirements, a think tank has found. Why It Matters SNAP benefits, also known as "food stamps," are paid to more than 40 million low- and no-income Americans across the U.S. to help with purchasing groceries. Under the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), expanded work requirements to be eligible for the benefits will cover a larger group of Americans than before. Under the new requirements, millions of previously eligible SNAP recipients could become ineligible. What To Know To continue receiving benefits, more individuals will be required to work or volunteer for at least 20 hours a week, or take part in training programs. Many who were previously exempt from these provisions could now be required to prove they meet these conditions or face the possibility of losing their SNAP benefits. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a left-leaning think tank, more than 5 million SNAP recipients could be at risk of losing some or all of their benefits under the new OBBBA rules. Beneficiaries in high population states with large numbers of SNAP claimants, like California, New York, Texas and Florida, would likely see the most people impacted. In these states alone, an estimated 1.2 million could be at risk of losing some or all of their benefits. In every U.S. state, between 5 percent and 12 percent of current SNAP recipients are at risk, according to the study. In California, the nation's most populous state, 368,000 individuals—6.84 percent of the state's 5.38 million SNAP recipients—are considered at risk, according to the study. Florida shows a similar trend, with 253,000 at risk out of nearly 3 million beneficiaries. In Texas, 276,000 SNAP participants face potential loss—8.64 percent of the state's total recipients. New York reports 318,000 people at risk—10.87 percent of its 2.93 million beneficiaries—making it one of the highest possible total impacts in the country, according to the report. Illinois follows closely with 205,000 at risk out of 1.9 million, or 10.59 percent. Overall, the group found 26 states have over 8 percent of their SNAP populations at risk of part or all of their benefits. What Are the New SNAP Work Requirements? The new rules have introduced age-based changes to SNAP work requirements. Able-bodied adults between the ages of 55 and 64 who do not have dependent children, as well as parents of children aged 14 and older, must now work or volunteer at least 20 hours per week or participate in training programs to receive their benefits. Previously, these requirements only applied to individuals up to age 54. Veterans, individuals experiencing homelessness and former foster youth could now also be subject to work requirements. Parents with teenage children will also be affected. If their youngest dependent child is 14 or older, these parents will now have to meet the work requirements. However, children will still continue receiving benefits even if their caregivers lose eligibility. It could also become more difficult for states to waive these requirements, as waivers will only eligible in areas with unemployment rates above 10 percent. What People Are Saying The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), a right-wing think-tank based in Naples, Florida, wrote in a May 16 report: "Most able-bodied adults on the program are exempt from work requirements and bureaucratic loopholes have allowed states to skirt them even further—waiving them for as many able-adults as possible. Even worse, the Obama and Biden administrations actively pressured states to continue this trend, leaving millions of able-bodied adults trapped in a cycle of dependency. With millions of open jobs nationwide and labor force participation rates behind pre-pandemic levels, it is more critical than ever to move able-bodied adults from welfare to work." The CBPP in its report: "More than 5 million people will be at risk of losing at least some of their food assistance, including 800,000 children, under a significant expansion of SNAP's already harsh, ineffective, and red tape-laden work requirements to parents and other caregivers of children aged 14 and up and adults aged 55 to 64." What Happens Next The start date for expanded work requirements is not clear and was not included in the OBBBA text.
Newsweek
29-07-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Donald Trump Accused of 'Exaggerated Claims' Over Social Security
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Trump administration has "been peddling false and exaggerated claims" about taxation on Social Security benefits, according to a think tank in Washington, D.C. Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email outside regular working hours. Why It Matters Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law. The legislation creates a new expanded standard deduction for taxpayers aged 65 and up, and it follows Trump's long-standing promise to nix federal taxes levied on Social Security income. Trump, the White House and the Social Security Administration (SSA) have promoted the expanded deduction as eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits for almost all seniors. In a June appearance on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures, Trump said the bill meant "no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime." However, experts have said the legislation's touted benefits for seniors are overstated and may hasten the insolvency of Social Security and Medicare trust funds. President Donald Trump speaks with the media at Trump Turnberry golf club in Scotland on July 28. President Donald Trump speaks with the media at Trump Turnberry golf club in Scotland on July 28. Christopher Furlong/GETTY What To Know The One Big Beautiful Bill Act raises the standard deduction for seniors aged 65 and older by up to $6,000 between 2025 and 2028. While it does not directly alter how Social Security benefits are taxed, it could indirectly reduce the amount of those benefits subject to federal taxation. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), almost half of seniors already didn't owe taxes on their Social Security benefits under previous law. "Since the substantial majority of low- and middle-income seniors didn't pay income taxes, the new deduction will provide no benefit to these households—doing nothing to help them afford their health care, housing, and other critical living expenses," the think tank wrote in a report published on Monday. Though the deduction begins to phase out for individuals with incomes over $75,000 and for married couples earning more than $150,000, the Tax Policy Center found that seniors with incomes between $80,000 and $270,000—representing a quarter of people over 65—receive almost two-thirds of the deduction's benefits. While higher-income seniors are the primary beneficiaries of the tax break, most won't see a complete elimination of taxes on Social Security income under the new law, according to the CBPP. "For the vast majority of these higher-income taxpayers, the tax on their Social Security benefits would be reduced but not eliminated," the think tank reported. The deduction also excludes beneficiaries under age 65. Social Security beneficiaries can begin collecting at 62, while those collecting survivor benefits can claim even earlier. Both the SSA and the White House have touted the benefits of the legislation. Citing analysis from the Council of Economic Advisers, the White House said 88 percent of all seniors who received Social Security would pay "NO TAX on their Social Security benefits," adding that the Senate proposal's $6,000 senior deduction was "estimated to benefit 33.9 million seniors, including seniors not claiming Social Security." Prior to the bill being signed by the president, the SSA sent an email celebrating the legislation's passage through Congress. The email said 90 percent of Social Security beneficiaries would "no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits" and that the bill would provide "meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation's economy." The CBPP report also warned that the new law could worsen the financial outlook of Social Security and Medicare. The think tank said the tax cuts would reduce the revenue generated from Social Security benefit taxation by about $30 billion annually, accelerating insolvency of both trust funds to 2032—a year earlier than previously projected. According to the latest Social Security Trustees report, the program's two trust funds—the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance funds—when combined are projected to reach insolvency by 2034. At that point, benefits would rely entirely on incoming payroll taxes, resulting in an automatic cut of about 21 percent unless Congress intervened. What People Are Saying The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: "The Trump Administration has been peddling false and exaggerated claims about the harmful Republican megabill's effects on the taxation of Social Security benefits, including in a blast email from the Social Security Administration. The new law doesn't help most low- and middle-income seniors, and it depletes the Social Security trust funds faster. Moreover, the Administration's misleading claims shouldn't distract from how the law's deep cuts to health care and food assistance will leave millions of seniors with low incomes worse off." The White House said in news release on July 21: "The largest tax cut in history for working- and middle-class Americans—including No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Overtime, and No Tax on Social Security—is now the law of the land, along with unprecedented tax relief for small businesses, farmers, workers, and families." What Happens Next The expanded deduction for seniors is set to take effect beginning with the 2025 tax year and expire after 2028 unless extended by future legislation.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
5 people on SNAP share what the food program gets right — and wrong
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, helps one in eight Americans put food on the table, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). SNAP is a lifeline for many individuals, families and people with disabilities. More than 62% of SNAP recipients are part of families with children. In 2022, 20% of children under 18 nationwide were in families receiving SNAP benefits. More than 38% of SNAP recipients are from working families. And more than 37% of families receiving SNAP include someone who is disabled or elderly, according to the CBPP. 'Without SNAP, families miss meals. Kids show up to school hungry. Parents skip groceries to keep the lights on. We're not talking about convenience. We're talking about survival,' Erica Williams, executive director of the nonprofit A Red Circle and co-author of the peer-reviewed food policy brief Food Pricing and Consumer Choice, tells Yahoo. SNAP is crucial because 'it's the most direct tool we have to reduce hunger,' she says. Most of the families Williams works with tell her that they don't want to be on SNAP forever but need help while they 'get stable,' she points out. SNAP can be used to buy a variety of foods, including dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables and snack foods. However, the program has limitations. 'You can't buy hot food or household goods like soap and diapers,' Williams says. 'You also can't buy prepared meals, which means parents working two jobs can't just grab something healthy on the go. It reinforces exhaustion.' Although SNAP helps many people get by when they don't earn enough to buy groceries, it often isn't enough. Rising food costs and eligibility restrictions make it challenging for many SNAP recipients to meet their needs. Yahoo talked to five people about what being on SNAP is really like. Danielle, a single mother in Missouri, works full-time in administrative support. She started receiving SNAP benefits when her son Marcus, now 20, was a baby, and his father stopped paying child support. Today, Danielle works 40 hours a week and still receives SNAP benefits. Marcus, who is neurodivergent, lives at home while he takes classes at a community college and works about 15 hours a week. Yet, despite having two working adults in the house, Danielle and Marcus don't earn enough to feed themselves adequately. Danielle's SNAP benefits help, but they are still struggling. Marcus stopped receiving benefits when he turned 18 because he was in school full-time and wasn't working enough hours to qualify for SNAP. Now, Danielle has to feed herself and her son with SNAP benefits meant for one adult. 'I understand the rules,' Danielle tells Yahoo. However, she emphasizes that she's unwilling to let her son go hungry or drop out of school and have a chance at a more financially stable life. 'That means I skip meals so he doesn't have to,' she says. Danielle usually buys foods like dry pasta, rice and canned vegetables to stretch her grocery budget. Eggs are a rare luxury, and she relies on a nonprofit food bank for fresh produce. Most of Danielle and Marcus's diet is 'Heavy. Salty,' Marcus says. 'You feel full, then you crash. I get foggy. Slow. Food's supposed to be medicine,' Marcus tells Yahoo. However, his limited diet often makes him feel worse. 'We're both trying. But we're still hungry,' Danielle says. Danielle wants people to know that 'this isn't about laziness. It's not about people gaming the system. It's about working families, caregiving parents, students trying to get out and still falling short.' Like Danielle, Jessica is also a single mother living in Missouri. She's been on and off SNAP since 2012. She typically buys items like flour, cereal, cheese and salmon with her SNAP benefits. Occasionally, she buys fresh fruit and vegetables and treats like ice cream or chicken nuggets for her son. However, due to the higher cost of fruit and vegetables, Jessica often finds that her benefits aren't enough to support a healthy diet. To fill the gap, Jessica relies on nonprofits like A Red Circle. 'The biggest challenge of being on SNAP is finding affordable quality food,' Jessica tells Yahoo. Even though Jessica would like to feed her son a healthy diet, she laments that her SNAP benefits are often just enough to cover 'pantry fillers.' Another challenge to staying healthy on SNAP is that "you can't buy vitamins, medicine or supplements,' she says. That makes it harder to stay healthy in the long run, she explains. Nevertheless, SNAP is a lifeline for Jessica. 'Without SNAP, feeding my family would be incredibly hard. With the cost of living so high and wages so low, it would be a serious struggle,' she explains. 'SNAP is not charity. It's a stabilizing force,' she says. Megan, who lives alone and has chronic Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, worked as a public servant in New York for 24 years. For her entire career, she helped others in need, including people struggling with mental illness and families whose loved ones were placed in child or adult protective services. Although Megan wanted to continue working, her health worsened, and she had to leave her job. Once Megan's savings ran out, she relied on local food pantries for food. When that wasn't enough, she applied for SNAP. Megan still visits food pantries. However, she uses her SNAP benefits to 'round out meals from the ingredients the food pantry provides,' she says. Since Megan usually gets canned and boxed goods from the food pantry, she usually uses her SNAP benefits to buy meat and produce. However, she notes that because of the high price of fresh fruit, produce 'feels like a luxury.' Moreover, although Megan tries to cook everything from scratch to save money, she keeps one or two pre-prepared meals on hand to eat when her illness flares and she's too fatigued to cook. 'I literally wouldn't be surviving without SNAP,' Megan tells Yahoo. 'Having SNAP has given me some peace of mind regarding access to food.' However, Megan is concerned because SNAP benefits don't automatically increase when grocery prices go up. Due to rising grocery prices, 'the SNAP benefits don't stretch as far in covering what's needed for a month,' she says. Megan is doing what she can to help with her recovery, but doesn't know when or if she will be able to return to work. 'Every fiber of me just wants to have my prior level of functioning back,' she says. 'I loved the work that I did. I loved my clients.' She adds: 'I'm hopeful that I will medically improve enough to be able to return to work and discontinue SNAP, but it will realistically be a few years, at best.' Until then, 'SNAP is a lifeline for me,' Megan says. Ryan Wilson, a disabled videographer from Colorado, was on SNAP for seven years. Like many people with disabilities, he had a hard time finding a job that paid him a living wage. 'The job market was and is tough,' Wilson tells Yahoo. When he wasn't earning enough to cover his basic expenses, SNAP helped him get by. He told Yahoo that without SNAP, 'I would have had a hard time paying for my essentials' like food and medical care. However, Wilson emphasizes that SNAP helped him survive but not thrive. When he was on SNAP, he couldn't use his benefits to buy necessities other than food. Additionally, he could only use his benefits at select locations like big box stores, even though smaller grocery stores were often closer. 'That is an inconvenience, especially for someone with a disability that impacts their mobility,' Wilson says. Now Wilson runs a video production company called Team Trust Productions. His income has increased, and he no longer needs SNAP to ensure he can access enough food. Wilson is grateful he received SNAP when he needed it, but he never expected to receive SNAP benefits forever. 'It's a temporary option. It does not have to be a permanent solution to financial uncertainty,' he says. Although Laura, a single woman from Pennsylvania, worked full-time, her income wasn't enough to support herself. For three years, Laura received SNAP benefits to help her get by. Eventually, she started earning a higher salary and no longer needed SNAP to buy food. However, in early 2025, Laura lost her job. Once her unemployment benefits ran out, she started receiving SNAP benefits again. Without SNAP, 'I would definitely not be eating three meals a day,' Laura tells Yahoo. She usually uses her SNAP benefits to buy frozen fruits and vegetables, chicken thighs and seasonal fruit and vegetables, which she finds more affordable than out-of-season produce. When she can afford it, Laura buys cheese and coffee. She also goes to her local food pantry to supplement her groceries. However, she emphasizes that food pantries are 'meant to be just that — supplemental, not a source of regular groceries.' Laura is grateful for the SNAP benefits she receives, but thinks some aspects of the program need to be changed. 'I wish we could buy paper products,' she says. 'Toilet paper is just as necessary as apples, and I wish I could just get everything at once.' She also wishes that restrictions on what SNAP recipients can buy, such as candy and hot foods, would be removed. Plus, Laura finds it difficult to figure out which foods she can buy with her benefits and which are excluded. 'No one should be told what food they're allowed to buy. Food is a human right,' Laura says. 'By making laws that just blindly eliminate whole sections of foods, that just makes it harder on people with specific diets. Or, it makes it impossible to give a little kid a birthday party,' she explains. Most importantly, Laura wishes she could rely on SNAP being around for those who need it. She's still looking for a full-time job that pays enough for her to support herself. Until then, however, "it's always in the back of my mind that my access to food could be taken away at any time. Depending on a program that's outside of your control, just to feed yourself, is terrifying,' she says.
Axios
03-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Where SNAP cuts in Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" could hit Americans hardest
President Trump's massive tax and spending bill, which is advancing through the House after surviving its Republican push through the Senate, would slash food benefits for thousands. The big picture: It would mark a historic cut to the social safety net that Republicans claim weeds out waste, fraud and abuse — but experts say the restructuring of assistance programs could leave more people hungry and uninsured. Context: Trump's signature policy bill adjusts work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the country's largest nutrition assistance program. In order to keep their benefits under the Senate-passed version of the bill, parents of children aged 14 or older would have to meet work requirements. The bill also bumps the work requirement age up to 64. Currently, SNAP's requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents apply to those between 18 and 54. It could also force some states to shoulder more benefit costs, the rate of which would be set by a state's percent of erroneous payments. Benefits are currently 100% federally funded, though states share administrative costs. Threat level: Medicaid and food aid cuts could also lead to lead to job losses and hits to state GDPs, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes. Zoom out: In March 2025, more than 42 million Americans participated in SNAP, according to initial USDA data. The program provides crucial support for families with low-paying jobs, low-income older adults, people with disabilities and others. According to a CBPP analysis of FY 2024 USDA data, more than 62% of SNAP participants are in families with children, and more than 38% are in working families. New Mexico has the largest share participating in SNAP, with some 21% of the population helped by the program, according to preliminary March data. By the numbers: The bill would reduce nutrition funding, which includes SNAP, by around $186 billion between 2025 and 2034. While analyst's projections have fluctuated as the legislation's provisions are tweaked, analysts have indicated millions of people could be cut from SNAP under the work requirement provisions. CBPP points to a CBO indication that more than 2 million people would be cut from SNAP under the work requirement provision. While the CBPP notes that revised legislation released June 25 slightly modified several SNAP provisions in the reconciliation plan, it still says more than 5 million people live in households at risk of losing at least some food assistance.
