Oh SNAP! New Changes Take Effect to Reserve Food Stamps for the Truly Needy

The federal government shutdown is in our rearview mirrors, and food assistance benefits are flowing to millions of American households again.

We learned two important lessons from the shutdown that shuttered the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps). First, SNAP is vulnerable to lawmakers’ political games, as we saw the Left willingly use the pain of SNAP benefits ending as a bargaining chip. Second, too many people are receiving SNAP, stretching the program beyond its intention of serving the truly poor for a short period of time.

As I testified before a congressional hearing, we need to combat fraud and abuse, rightsize SNAP to serve the truly needy, push more able-bodied adults to work, and end the Obama-era and COVID-era expansions to SNAP that used emergencies to lock more Americans into generational government dependency.

Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Act, the tax bill passed by congressional Republicans, some of these reforms are underway.

What’s Happened?

Yesterday, December 1, 2025, new age limits for SNAP went into effect. The age limit was raised from 54 to 64 for people who must work, train, or volunteer at least 80 hours per month in “qualifying” activities to receive SNAP assistance. This mandate will apply to parents of children ages 14 through 17, veterans, homeless people, and former foster youth.

These rules apply to new SNAP recipients and to current recipients when they next recertify. 

CNN reported that recipients, who don’t meet the work requirement, are expected to start losing benefits sometime in March, well after the holidays.

Analysis from the Congressional Budget Office projects that this effort alone will lead to about 2.4 million recipients losing benefits over the next 10 years.

The race is on for states to establish systems to track work requirements and to alert citizens of the new work requirements before they see a disruption in their benefits. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) told states after the OBBBA was passed that the new rules would go into effect, and later provided guidance to states that by November 1st, they should have their systems in place.

What This Means for Me

Tightening up the SNAP program is good for the truly poor, good for the workforce, and good for taxpayers.

SNAP serves 42 million people, or 12.3% of U.S. residents. The average SNAP household received a monthly benefit of $332, or $177 per person, paid out through EBT cards. 

In a blog post last month, I explored characteristics of SNAP beneficiaries. What stands out is the tremendous number of single, childless, able adults who are choosing not to work. 

Also, fraud is a significant problem with SNAP. The USDA estimated that for FY 2023, 11.7% (about $10.5 billion) of SNAP benefit payments were improper (i.e., the wrong amount was provided or the payment should not have been made at all), rising from 11.5% the year prior.

I explained in my congressional testimony this year that, despite being required to prove they are low-income, lawmakers stretch, undermine, and bypass such requirements. The consequences are bloated rolls:

The federal government and states have grown welfare programs by relaxing eligibility requirements or expanding the definitions of the needy. In the latter, states provide benefits to individuals earning far above—two or even five times over—the federal poverty line.

 

Federal statute sets income eligibility and asset limits. States must verify liquid financial assets (cash or money deposited in a bank account) of those applying for food benefits.

 

SNAP grants categorical eligibility to TANF enrollees, exempting them from the program’s income and asset limits. States exploit this loophole to provide outreach describing the welfare programs such as brochures, websites, or toll-free phone numbers, and claim that anyone who receives them is categorically eligible for SNAP, bypassing federal eligibility standards. At an expected cost to taxpayers of $111 billion over the next decade, this loophole adds more than 5.4 million ineligible enrollees to the food stamp program each year.

It’s understandable that, as a nation, we expand our social safety net during economic crises such as pandemics or recessions to ensure that Americans don’t go hungry due to no fault of their own.

The problem with food stamps and other welfare programs is that enrollment didn’t recede after the pandemic ended or after the economy recovered from the Great Recession. Obama and Biden’s policies are to blame.

Disincentivizing people who can work from working hampers their individual economic mobility. Encouraging work, training, education, or volunteer service builds an individual’s human capital so that they can secure better-paying jobs and better opportunities.

For the truly needy and vulnerable, rightsizing SNAP ensures the program serves them while bringing down spending—a saving for taxpayers.

Bottom Line

We applaud conservatives and the Trump administration for making good on promises to rightsize SNAP. It’s good for individuals, the workforce, and taxpayers.