More than 2 million Americans have lost SNAP benefits since the “Big Beautiful Bill” took effect.
Arthur Delaney at HuffPost:
Over 2 million fewer people are receiving federal food assistance since Republicans in Congress cut benefits last year. Nationwide enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program stood at 42 million in July, when President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law. As of December, enrollment had fallen to 39.5 million, according to data released last month. “The program has changed in ways that we’re only now starting to see the impact of,” Joseph Llobrera, an expert on food assistance with the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told HuffPost.
The pullback of federal food assistance could stretch family budgets amid persistent inflation that’s driven voter dissatisfaction with Republicans in special elections since last year. Republicans are widely expected to fare poorly in November’s midterm elections, and cost-of-living concerns are a key reason. In one sense, the cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, which Republicans used to offset the cost of tax cuts tilted toward the wealthy, merely reverse expansions to those programs enacted by Democrats during the presidencies of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
But the changes to food assistance are part of a more drastic restructuring of the federal government’s main antihunger program. In addition to tighter eligibility requirements for people without jobs, the Trump administration has encouraged states to impose restrictions on which foods SNAP benefits can buy. The restrictions started taking effect this year, with 22 states aiming to block the purchase of candy and sugary drinks. Possibly the biggest change of all, though, is a part of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill. It requires states to shoulder a portion of the cost of SNAP benefits if they’re making too many erroneous payments. It’s something they’ve never had to do — and something they will definitely try to avoid doing to the extent possible.
The costly impacts of the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act are being felt: more than 2 million Americans have lost SNAP benefits, thanks to the tightening of eligibility requirements.
