The Washington Reporter: Laying out some sensible and overdue corrections to nutrition assistance

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) penned an op/ed in the Washington Reporter highlighting nutrition assistance reforms in the One Big Beautiful Act that rein in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) misspending and encourage better stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Congressional Republicans delivered on President Donald Trump’s priorities, which he signed into law on Independence Day. We instituted?common sense?reforms that make government programs more efficient and accountable to protect taxpayer dollars. That includes motivating states to administer assistance programs with more precision and vigilance.

In Fiscal Year 2024, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) overpayments — when benefits are miscalculated or go to ineligible recipients — totaled more than $8.5 billion.?While the error rate?dropped slightly from 11.68 percent to 10.93 percent in Fiscal Year 2024, it remains unacceptably high.

Congressional Republicans have now paved the way to tackle the root of this issue with critical modifications.

Any state with an error rate above six percent must help cover a portion of its benefit cost — encouraging better program management and responsible use of taxpayer money. Having skin in the game will incentivize states to operate SNAP more efficiently and our commonsense reforms that prioritize accountability, work, and progress toward self-sufficiency?help ensure this assistance is targeted and taxpayer dollars are well-spent.

It is reasonable to expect SNAP recipients who can work to do so. However, only 30 percent of able-bodied adults without dependents on SNAP?have a job, part-time or otherwise. While this population accounted for nearly 10 percent of all SNAP participants in Fiscal Year 2023, they received 14 percent of the SNAP benefits issued that year. This imbalance is unfair to taxpayers, adults who receive SNAP but also work, and those who truly need help to afford food.

That is why we made changes to empower able-bodied adults to pursue work, education, training, and volunteer opportunities. Moving individuals forward on a path to independence reduces reliance on government and helps strengthen communities?while growing our economy.

Today, six states do not require any able-bodied adults to work, and 25 others have sweeping waivers of the work requirement that fail to reflect real employment conditions. We closed this loophole that allowed states to broadly waive federal work requirements depending on where a recipient lives and limited waivers to areas with employment rates above 10 percent, restoring uniform standards, and ending state-level workarounds.?

These are solutions that preserve the integrity and sustainability of SNAP, which should be of top concern for every American.?

We also reined in excessive,?runaway spending by tying SNAP benefit increases to the rate of inflation. This maintains a long-standing, cost-of-living adjustment while preventing future executive overreach like the Biden administration’s?unilateral?and staggering?21 percent expansion of benefits without congressional approval.

These reforms restore the original intent of SNAP?as?a bridge to independence, not a long-term lifestyle. This law represents a victory for fiscal and personal responsibility?by ensuring the program is a true safety net. It spurs the pursuit of work or training that ultimately reduces or eliminates individuals’ reliance on government — and the taxpayers who fund it.?We believe most Americans will agree this course correction is sensible and overdue.