Aug 05 One Big, Brutal Disaster for SNAP

Aug 05h in Bold Voices by

(August 5, 2025)

This Bold Voices blog post was written by one of Allies for Children’s partners about a subject that is relevant to their work as well as ours.
Today’s blog was written by: Ann Sanders, Director of Public Benefits Policy and Programs at Just Harvest.

SNAP, still often commonly referred to as food stamps, is our nation’s largest anti-hunger program. Nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians benefit from SNAP, most of whom are children, individuals with disabilities, the elderly, and working families.

In addition to keeping families fed, SNAP supports the food retail economy, with every $1 in SNAP supporting $1.54 of economic activity. When SNAP is cut, less money is spent in grocery stores, who then order fewer food products.

The reconciliation budget, often referred to as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” made several major changes to SNAP that will weaken the program’s effectiveness and increase hunger for families in our region. When it comes to SNAP, this legislation creates more burdens for households who are trying to access benefits, and threatens the long-term stability of the program.

Changes in work reporting requirements for tens of thousands of local households.

Since 2020, Allegheny County, and most of Pennsylvania, have been waived from requiring “able-bodied adults without dependents” (ABAWD) to complete additional reporting about their work participation – due to our higher than average unemployment rate. This law dramatically narrows the criteria for such waivers. All or most of Pennsylvania – including Allegheny County – will lose this waiver when it expires September 1, 2025. Adults who cannot meet the reporting requirements can only receive benefits for three months out of three years.

In addition to limiting waivers for this reporting requirement, Congress broadened the category of who is considered an ABAWD. Only children under the age of 14 will be considered “dependents,” as opposed to any child under 18 under the current law. Federal exemptions for veterans, homeless individuals, and youth aging out of foster care were also removed. This expansion will go into effect later this fall.

Reporting requirements are a significant hurdle to receiving SNAP benefits. As Just Harvest discovered when conducting our Barrier to Benefits Report, the number one reason for the denial of a SNAP application is missing paperwork. Of those that are approved, roughly 20% of SNAP participants lose their benefits for a month or more when they are due for annual recertification, before they reapply or are able to finish the paperwork necessary to keep their benefits.

The PA Department of Human Services (DHS) estimates (based on previous implementation of the work reporting rule) that 54% of adults subject to the rule will lose benefits by not being able to prove an exemption, or find 80 hours of work or approved work-activity each month. Overall, DHS projects over 143,000 adults will lose benefits as a result of the rule change.

By definition, you may think this rule would only impact adults; however, many of these adults live in households with others, and removing them from SNAP impacts the household at large. In fact, removing a household member from the SNAP case can put the whole family’s benefits at risk if their income now exceeds the limit for the smaller household size. For example:

Imagine a two-parent household with two teenagers ages 14 and 15. Dad works 50 hours a week making $5,000 a month; mom does not work. When the new rules go into effect, mom is considered an “ABAWD.” After three months, if mom cannot find a work activity or document an exemption, mom is removed from the household. The SNAP household size drops from four to three, and the family is over the income limit for a household of that size. Everyone would lose benefits.

Furthermore, adults who are caregivers but do not have primary custody of their children (even young children) are impacted by the rule. The Ohio Association of Food Banks conducted a survey of clients who would be considered ABAWDs under the new law – and their findings showed that nearly 25% were parents who did not have full custody of their children.

Changes in funding structure threaten the long-term stability of the program.

In addition to restricting access, Republicans in Congress changed how SNAP is funded in two very key ways.

The first is that it cuts in half the amount of federal dollars going to support SNAP administration: the federal funding PA DHS receives to train and pay SNAP case managers, update IT systems, and ensure SNAP benefits are paid accurately and timely. Previously, the state paid half of the administrative costs and the federal government paid the other half. Starting October 1, 2026, the federal government will only pay 25% and Pennsylvania will be responsible for 75% of SNAP administrative costs. According to the PA IFO, this would cost Pennsylvania about $130 million/year.

The second way that funding is changing is that PA will have to pay a portion of SNAP benefits. SNAP benefits have always been 100% fully federally funded. This allows the program to effectively respond to economic downturns – a time when families need benefits the most. Federal funding protects families when the state budget is super tight, and there is lower revenue from income and sales tax. This provision is an unprecedented structural change that risks cutting billions of dollars of food assistance across the country. According to an analysis by the Urban Institute, this will seriously constrain the ways SNAP acts as a stabilizing force during recessions and economic downturns.

After October 1, 2027, Pennsylvania will be required to pay a share of SNAP benefits based on the state’s payment error rate. (The payment error rate is based on both underpayments and overpayments made in a sampling of SNAP cases. It is not a measure of fraud. The vast majority of payment errors are unintentional DHS worker and/or client mistakes.)

If the state cannot pay its full cost-share, there will be no federal support for the program – essentially stopping SNAP for the state. Payment is required even if the payment error rate goes down below 6% in the years between the fiscal year with the error rate over 6% and the year payment is required.

  • If a state has a payment error rate between 6% and 8%, the state cost-share requirement will be 5%. According to the PA IFO, this would cost Pennsylvania $225 million per year.
  • If the error rate is between 8% and 10%, the cost-share increases to 10% (or $550M per year).
  • If the error rate is between 10% and 13.33%, the state cost is 15% of benefits.
  • Thanks to a deal made last minute to win the vote of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, if the payment error rate is above 13.34%, there is no cost-share requirement – potentially until 2030.

In the Federal Fiscal Year of 2024 PA had an error rate of 10.76%, which is down from the previous year at 14%.

Other changes brought about by this big, brutal bill:

Access will also be restricted for thousands of lawfully present immigrants, including children: Refugees, those who have been given asylee status, and many other lawfully present groups will no longer qualify for SNAP benefits (Undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for SNAP). According to DHS, this could end SNAP for nearly 30,000 legally present immigrants residing in PA. At an average benefit of $154 per person, PA would lose about $55 million per year in federal food benefits. This policy change will also lower SNAP for U.S. citizen children living in immigrant households, by reducing SNAP for the entire family.

Benefits will erode over time: Restrictions in how food prices that set benefit levels are calculated mean that benefits will lose purchasing power over time. The Congressional Budget Office estimated this will be a $35 billion cut from 2027-2034 – roughly one day’s worth of groceries per person a month (-$7/mo). Over time, SNAP benefits will become more and more inadequate and out of step with modern life. The amount of the cuts will grow over time – reducing SNAP for every PA SNAP household in the future.

These changes will greatly harm our neighbors, as they have additional hoops to jump through in order to access and maintain their benefits. As we work to try to mitigate harm in the short-term, and work towards improving food assistance for all, please join our email list for future updates and ways to get involved.