Sponsors (9)
The bill expands SNAP access and reduces disincentives for workforce and refugee employment programs by excluding certain program payments from countable income, but it raises federal and possibly state costs and creates legal and administrative uncertainty that could change who receives benefits during implementation.
Low-income households — including parents, people in vocational training, and refugees/immigrants in accredited employment programs — will be less likely to lose SNAP or see reduced benefits because certain training, vocational rehabilitation, and refugee program payments are excluded from countable income.
Participants in vocational rehabilitation and workforce-training programs face lower barriers to participation because program payments will not reduce SNAP eligibility or benefit amounts.
State agencies and USDA gain greater administrative flexibility to interpret SNAP rules under existing authority, which could allow more streamlined, case-by-case determinations.
SNAP program costs are likely to increase because excluding certain program payments from countable income will raise eligibility and benefit amounts, potentially increasing federal spending and taxpayer burden.
Removing the existing statutory provision could eliminate an entitlement or protection and cause some low-income households (including parents and families) to lose benefits that they previously received.
Eliminating the statutory subsection creates legal uncertainty while the Secretary issues implementing guidance, which could delay benefit determinations or change case outcomes for beneficiaries and state agencies during the transition.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Excludes income from certain training, employment, vocational rehab, and refugee employment programs from household income used to determine SNAP eligibility and benefits, and deletes an existing SNAP statutory subsection.
Introduced April 21, 2025 by Adriano J. Espaillat · Last progress April 21, 2025
Deletes an existing subsection of the SNAP eligibility statute and changes what counts as household income for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill adds a rule that income from certain training, employment, vocational rehabilitation, and refugee employment programs does not count toward a household's SNAP income test, which can increase eligibility or benefit amounts for participants in those programs. The change narrows the types of money counted as income for SNAP, and also removes an unspecified existing statutory provision in the same SNAP eligibility section.