Sponsors (10)
The bill helps reduce food insecurity for borrowers by counting student loan payments as a deductible expense for SNAP eligibility, at the expense of modestly higher program costs, short-term administrative burdens for states, and potential verification challenges that could delay benefits.
Low-income households with student loan payments (including students and parents) will have those payments deducted from countable income for SNAP, likely increasing benefit amounts or enabling some households to qualify and reducing food insecurity for borrowers.
State and federal agencies get clearer, standardized guidance by defining 'student loan' to include Title IV and qualifying private education loans, reducing ambiguity in eligibility determinations.
Household-reported student loan payments may be hard to verify, creating a risk of inconsistent documentation that could cause errors or delays in SNAP application and benefit processing for low-income applicants.
State SNAP agencies must update systems and train staff within 180 days, imposing short-term administrative burdens and implementation costs on state governments.
Allowing student loan payments to be deducted could modestly increase SNAP costs for federal and state programs as more households qualify or receive larger benefits.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced September 4, 2025 by Peter Welch · Last progress September 4, 2025
Creates a new deduction for monthly student loan payments when calculating household income for SNAP (formerly known as food stamps). Starting 180 days after enactment, households may claim a deduction at certification or recertification for monthly payments made by any household member on eligible student loans, as long as the payment was not made for the household by a third party. The bill defines eligible student loans to include federal Title IV loans and private education loans (as defined in existing federal law). The change reduces countable income for households with student loan payments, which can increase benefit amounts or improve eligibility at recertification.