On Monday, House Republicans revealed a new spending proposal aimed at significantly revising the food stamp program. This plan ties federal funding to the rates of payment errors made by states.
Under this proposal, states with higher error rates would receive less federal funding, which is intended to motivate them to address issues like waste and fraud. The House Agriculture Committee incorporated this measure, and it is anticipated to be part of an overarching legislative package that President Trump has dubbed his “one big, beautiful bill.”
The benefits of food stamps, funded entirely at the federal level as part of the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), are administered uniquely by each state. States have the authority to establish distinct standards for over 20 different aspects concerning food stamp eligibility and enforcement.
According to the bill’s text, states must cover at least 5% of their food stamp expenditures. Should they exceed a 10% error rate, they’ll need to take on 25% of the costs associated with the benefits they disburse.
USDA data for the fiscal year 2023 indicates that a remarkable number of states surpassed the error threshold; for instance, Alaska’s rate is a staggering 60%. This implies that a large portion of its food stamp budget is lost due to administrative errors or fraud. New Jersey has also been reported to misallocate more than a third of its food stamp benefits, while South Carolina’s rate exceeds 20%.
The financial implications of these changes are extensive. In California, for example, the error rate stands at 13.4%, which would require the state to be responsible for 25% of its annual $15 billion food stamp expense—over $3 billion this year alone under the new regulations.
Similarly, New York’s error rate of 12.68% means it would need to cover 25% of the state’s additional $2 billion spent beyond the $8 billion allocated for food stamp benefits.
Even those states with the lowest error rates, such as Wisconsin—where the rate is 5.15%—will need to contribute 5% of their profits, a rise from the current 0%. Given that Wisconsin dispenses over $1.7 billion in food stamp benefits, this would result in a liability exceeding $100 million for the state.
Food stamp spending has seen a significant increase in the U.S.—doubling from 2019 to 2023—largely due to pandemic-related policies that inflated costs, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Federal data indicates that since 2001, food stamp costs, adjusted for inflation, have risen by over $100 billion.
These proposed changes arrive as Congress moves towards reducing federal spending by $1 trillion and includes various Republican strategies, such as tightening regulations on non-citizens accessing food stamps and enhancing job requirements.
Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Glenn Thompson, who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, expressed in a recent interview that states must contribute financially if they wish to continue managing the program. “If states want to have a say and influence the requirements we set, they need to help cover some costs,” he explained.
