Sponsors (16)
The bill preserves and expands near-term access to SNAP and gives agencies more administrative flexibility and implementation time, but it also introduces work-related rules, administrative ambiguity, and potential cost and coverage risks that could harm vulnerable populations and raise burdens for states and taxpayers.
Low-income households (including many currently enrolled SNAP recipients) keep access to nutrition and benefit from restored eligibility and a 180-day implementation window that prevents immediate loss of benefits.
Children in low-income families benefit academically because stable SNAP-supported nutrition is associated with better math and reading outcomes.
Local communities and economies receive a short-term stimulus because SNAP benefits are typically spent quickly and generate additional local economic activity.
About 6.1 million people could lose SNAP benefits if work requirements are enforced, increasing food insecurity and poverty for low-income households and jeopardizing health and stability.
Work rules and rule changes increase administrative burdens and complexity (paperwork, eligibility tracking, differing effective dates) that will reduce participation and raise implementation costs for states and retailers.
If more people regain eligibility after removal of disqualification rules, states and USDA may face higher program costs, increasing fiscal pressure on state budgets and taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Removes statutory SNAP work-requirement language, deletes a SNAP administrative allocation clause, and makes conforming edits to the IRC and WIOA with delayed effect.
Official title: To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to repeal the particular work requirement that disqualifies able-bodied adults for eligibility to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
Introduced February 12, 2026 by Alma Adams · Last progress February 12, 2026
Removes statutory SNAP work-requirement language and related administrative allocation language, makes conforming edits across the Food and Nutrition Act, the Internal Revenue Code, and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and phases in those changes with delayed and transitional effective dates. The law is intended to preserve SNAP access for people who cannot meet work rules, reduce administrative burdens, and protect families and children from benefit losses. The act takes effect 180 days after enactment, with carve-outs so existing allotments and certain hires remain governed by prior rules during transition periods. It makes targeted deletions from WIOA and a small textual change to the Internal Revenue Code as part of the set of conforming amendments.