The US Department of Agriculture published a proposed rule on Nov. 10 that would strip SNAP eligibility from 3.2M households containing 6.3M people once fully effective in fiscal 2029.
The rule would end broad-based categorical eligibility, the policy that lets states grant automatic Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility to families receiving non-cash services funded by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Automatic eligibility would be limited to households getting TANF cash assistance.
Federal SNAP benefit spending would fall by roughly $44.649B over fiscal 2027 through 2031. States would see a net reduction of about $5.24B, though their administrative costs would rise by roughly $928.5M.
Grocery aisles feel it first
SNAP benefits are redeemed at grocery stores and food retailers, so a smaller caseload means fewer swipes at the register. USDA's own analysis concedes that the drop in redemptions means some small retailers may see lower sales. Retailers and food companies have faced SNAP rule changes before.
The timing lands as holiday giving season begins and after enrollment has already shrunk. Participation fell by about 5.5M people in the year following the 2025 reconciliation law, a drop of roughly 13%. That law cut $180B from the program and added work requirements. The SNAP cuts already in place have their own record.
USDA Rule Would Pull SNAP From 6.3M People
Projected impacts once fully effective in fiscal 2029, millions
Bar chart. Millions Impacted. Individuals Losing SNAP: Millions 6.30. Households Losing SNAP: Millions 3.20. Children Losing Free School Meals: Millions 1.78.
Source: Federal Register, Bloomberg Law
School cafeterias are affected too. About 1.78M children would lose automatic free school meal eligibility, though roughly 97% would still qualify through an income-based application, and about 28K would pay full price.
Why USDA says the rules drifted
As of December 2025, 46 states use broad-based categorical eligibility, 37 set gross income limits above the federal threshold of 130% of the poverty guidelines, and 41 have no resource limit at all.
USDA estimates 11.5% of participating households, about 2.5M households containing 5.4M individuals, hold resources above the SNAP limit. In 2024, nearly $214M in benefits went to households that would have failed the income or resource tests.
A 2012 Government Accountability Office report found payment errors in 17.2% of these households, against 6.7% elsewhere.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities argues the cut would hit working families with children, seniors, and people with disabilities hardest, and that the rule would make SNAP harder and more expensive for states to administer.
Representative Angie Craig of Minnesota, the ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, said in a statement that the proposed rule would make it harder to meet basic needs and roll back efforts to streamline federal programs.
Craig's statement noted the knock-on effects on Summer EBT and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, where about 5.5K participants would lose eligibility. About 42K children could lose Summer EBT benefits starting in summer 2029.
The proposal revives a 2019 attempt that was withdrawn in June 2021, so nothing is final yet. Public comments close Dec. 10.
