Millions could lose food assistance under GOP’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ CBO says

By Tami Luhby, CNN

(CNN) — Millions of low-income Americans, including families with children, could lose their food stamp benefits under House Republicans’ newly passed tax and spending cuts package, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released Thursday.

Others could see smaller monthly assistance.

The analysis is the latest to show the impact of the historic cuts to the nation’s safety net programs contained in the package, which aims to fulfill President Donald Trump’s agenda. The legislation would provide trillions of dollars in tax cuts while slashing federal support for food stamps and Medicaid to help offset the cost. The package, however, is expected to undergo multiple changes in the Senate, where some lawmakers have already expressed concerns about the safety net provisions.

As written, the bill would reduce federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, the official name for food stamps, by roughly $286 billion over the next decade, according to the CBO analysis, which was requested by Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Angie Craig, ranking members of the Senate and House agriculture committees, respectively. House Republicans have said the measures are intended to “restore integrity” to the program, which provides aid to roughly 42 million Americans.

Among the most consequential and controversial provisions are expanding the program’s existing work requirements to many older Americans, and, for the first time, to many parents. Also, states would have less flexibility in waiving these requirements during tough economic times.

These measures would strip roughly 3.2 million people of their food stamp benefits in an average month over the next decade, CBO estimates. This includes 800,000 people who live with children ages 7 and older.

States would have to share in the cost of the benefits for the first time, shouldering between 5% and 25% of the cost depending on their payment error rate. State responses would vary, but some “would modify benefits or eligibility and possibly leave the program altogether because of the increased costs,” CBO projects.

The provision would lead states to reduce or eliminate food stamp benefits for about 1.3 million people in an average month over the decade, CBO estimates. Also, subsidies for child nutrition programs would decrease for about 420,000 children during that period.

Other measures in the bill, including capping annual increases in benefits, would also reduce monthly assistance. And a provision tightening eligibility for noncitizens would leave between 120,000 and 250,000 people without aid.

CBO noted that the coverage loss projections are for each set of provisions individually and do not account for overlap in the people who could be affected. Its analysis does not provide an overall figure for how many people would lose access to food stamps.

The House bill also calls for introducing the first-ever work requirement to Medicaid, which could leave millions of low-income Americans without health coverage, according to experts.

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