Sponsors (9)
The bill protects nutrition access for low-income Americans and reduces SNAP-related administrative burdens—improving food security and child outcomes—while increasing program costs, weakening some work-linked employment incentives, and requiring state operational adjustments.
Low-income individuals (including those previously subject to time limits) will no longer lose SNAP benefits for failing to meet work/work-search rules, preserving access to food assistance.
Parents, families, and other recipients who cannot comply with work rules due to caregiving, health, or transportation barriers will keep nutrition support, reducing immediate food insecurity.
Households receiving SNAP will continue to support local economies because SNAP spending generates roughly $1.50–$1.80 in economic activity per dollar, providing stimulus especially during downturns.
Taxpayers and state budgets may face higher program costs if more people retain or regain SNAP benefits without work requirements, increasing federal/state spending on food assistance.
Some unemployed individuals may receive fewer incentives or referrals to employment and training services that were previously triggered by work-rule interactions, potentially reducing labor-market engagement.
States that used the work requirement as a tool to target job-placement supports will face short-term operational disruption and transition costs as they revise program operations.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Introduced May 6, 2025 by Peter Welch · Last progress May 6, 2025
Removes the federal statutory work requirement for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by striking the provision that sets that requirement and making conforming edits across the Food and Nutrition Act, the Internal Revenue Code, and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The bill includes findings about food insecurity, racial and tribal disparities, and the harms of work requirements, and sets the changes to take effect 180 days after enactment. The change does not authorize new funding or set new program deadlines; it alters the statutory baseline for SNAP eligibility and related cross-references in other federal laws, affecting millions of people who would otherwise be subject to the work requirement and several federal agencies that administer food, tax, and workforce programs.