Means-tested welfare is the third-largest segment of federal spending, only outranked by Social Security and Medicare. The U.S. welfare system has been growing for decades, with little to show when it comes to helping lower-income Americans achieve upward mobility.
In the recent One Big Beautiful Bill Act, however, Congress made some promising reforms to one welfare program—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. These changes are designed to promote self-sufficiency and reduce fraud. SNAP is one of the most widespread government welfare programs, with nearly 1 in 8 Americans now receiving benefits.
The reforms will also save money. The Congressional Budget Office projects SNAP reforms will reduce program costs by $185.9 billion during the next 10 years.
Of course, the legacy media have billed the reforms as cuts. In reality, they are much-needed policy reforms designed to increase the likelihood SNAP is promoting self-sufficiency rather than long-term dependency and to protect taxpayer dollars from misuse.
SNAP spending and participation have been climbing for at least the last five decades. Particularly during COVID-19, SNAP spending soared, and it has remained well above pre-pandemic levels since then.
COVID-19’s SNAP benefit increases were supposed to be temporary. But the Biden administration cemented the boosts via executive overreach. The massive 23% benefit increase was the biggest one-time benefit rise in the program’s history.
Congress’ recent reforms to SNAP in the bill strengthen work requirements for able-bodied adults, make clear that benefit increases must be tied to inflation, hold states more accountable for improper payments, and tighten a longtime loophole that allows households to artificially boost their SNAP benefits.
Let’s look more closely at how Congress reformed SNAP.
First, helping able-bodied Americans on welfare get back to work should be a primary goal of the U.S. welfare system. Yet work requirements are scarce in the system. Only able-bodied adults on SNAP ages 18 to 54 without children have been subject to any work requirement. (Only recently was the age limit pushed to age 54 from 49.)
With the recent reforms, work requirements will now apply to able-bodied adults without children up to the age of 64 as well as to able-bodied parents whose children are 14 and older. The work requirements can be fulfilled by part-time employment (20 hours a week), job training, or community service.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act also seeks to reduce fraud by making states more accountable for improper SNAP payments. Currently, nearly all SNAP funding comes from the federal government, meaning states have little incentive to see that SNAP funding is spent properly. Now, states will be required to contribute some of their own funding to SNAP (up to 15%) depending on the state’s payment error rate (the share of SNAP payments made incorrectly).
Congress also tightened SNAP’s “Heat & Eat” loophole. This convoluted loophole allows some households to artificially increase the amount of their utility bill they can claim on their SNAP application. Households can then deduct an artificially boosted utility payment from their income and thereby qualify for a higher SNAP benefit.
Finally, the bill also makes clear that SNAP benefit increases must be tied to inflation. This prevents the executive branch from making future Biden era-type boosts.
These reforms will hopefully be accompanied by others. While the SNAP reforms are some of the largest welfare reforms in decades, they are also some of the only reforms in decades. There is plenty of room left to improve SNAP, not to mention many of the other roughly 90 means-tested government welfare programs.
Still, the SNAP reforms are crucial first steps to get the U.S. welfare system moving in the right direction.
