USDA Moves to Close SNAP ‘Loophole,’ – Own Estimate Says 6.3 Million Would Lose Food Aid

The Agriculture Department is proposing to sharply limit who automatically qualifies for food stamps, a change the department itself estimates would cut 6.3 million people from the program, according to the proposed rule.

The rule, scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Tuesday, would narrow “broad-based categorical eligibility” for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the filing shows.

Today, households that get any benefit or service funded by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program can qualify for SNAP automatically. That includes non-cash help, not just cash aid. Under the proposal, only households that receive TANF “assistance,” which is mostly cash aid, would qualify that way.

Forty-six states now use the broader approach, The Washington Sun reported. Households that lose automatic eligibility would have to meet federal income and asset limits instead.

The Numbers

The department estimates 3.2 million households containing 6.3 million people, or 17.6% of SNAP participants, would no longer receive benefits in fiscal 2029, the first year of full effect, according to the rule. It projects federal SNAP spending would fall about $44.6 billion from fiscal 2027 to 2031.

The rule also estimates about 1.78 million children would lose automatic eligibility for free school meals, though about 97% of them would still qualify based on household income, according to the filing.

“Broad-based categorical eligibility has bloated the welfare rolls for decades,” a USDA spokesperson said in a statement, The Washington Sun reported. “It has allowed States to take short cuts, error rates to balloon, and those with income and assets far above federal limits access to a benefit meant for the neediest among us. Correcting this loophole is long overdue.”

Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden signed the rule, The Washington Sun reported. The Trump administration tried a similar change in 2019, which the Biden administration later withdrew. The new version would affect about twice as many people.

The department estimates state administrative costs would rise by about $929 million over five years as states check more applicants’ resources, according to The Washington Sun.

Critics have already pointed to earlier cuts. Up to 5 million people lost SNAP access after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act expanded work requirements last year, The Independent reported.

What Comes Next

The proposal is not final. The public has 30 days after Tuesday’s publication to submit comments through Regulations.gov or by mail, according to the rule. The department must review those comments before issuing a final rule.

The department also filed a second proposed rule Tuesday that would codify the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s changes to SNAP’s three-month time limit for able-bodied adults subject to work requirements, according to that filing. It would also tighten requirements for states seeking waivers.

The Senate is also debating a farm bill, with a dispute over how long states get to lower their SNAP error rates before they must share the program’s costs, The Washington Sun reported.

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