USDA Proposes Rule to Strip SNAP Eligibility From 6.3 Million People

WASHINGTON, The U.S. Department of Agriculture published a proposed rule Tuesday that would restrict automatic eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a change the agency's own analysis projects would remove 6.3 million people from the food-stamp rolls.

The rule, docketed as FNA-2026-0661 and titled "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Reforming Categorical Eligibility," targets a policy known as broad-based categorical eligibility. Under that policy, households that qualify for benefits through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program are automatically enrolled in SNAP without a separate income or resource review.

"Broad-based categorical eligibility has bloated the welfare rolls for decades," a USDA spokesperson told CBS News in an email.

The department's regulatory analysis, cited by news4jax.com, estimates that the rule would remove roughly 3.2 million households, containing 6.3 million individuals, from SNAP once it reaches full effect in fiscal year 2029. That figure represents nearly 18 percent of the program's current participants. About 36.1 million people received SNAP benefits as of July 2026, the latest month for which federal data are available.

The USDA projects the rule would reduce federal SNAP spending by approximately $44.65 billion over five years, from fiscal years 2027 through 2031, according to reporting by news4jax.com. States would see a net spending reduction of roughly $5.24 billion, though state administrative costs are expected to rise by an estimated $928.5 million as agencies process more cases under standard eligibility rules.

The proposal would also carry consequences beyond food assistance. The USDA's own regulatory analysis estimates that approximately 1.78 million children could lose automatic eligibility for free school meals, which is linked to SNAP enrollment, according to reporting by parentingpatch.com. The agency said about 97 percent of those children would likely still qualify by filing a separate income-based application.

The rule arrives after a year of contraction in the program. As reported by Fox5Atlanta, the 6.3 million people who could lose benefits under the new proposal would be in addition to the 5.5 million who have already lost SNAP since the administration's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" took effect in July 2025.

Critics pushed back quickly. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., the ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, called the rule "heartless and cruel" in a statement cited by multiple outlets. Several labor and consumer groups, including the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, decried the proposal, saying it would worsen hunger.

"SNAP acts as an economic driver, supporting the entire food supply chain," UFCW International President Milton Jones said in a statement cited by Yahoo News.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research group, said in analysis cited by Yahoo News that the rule would cut off benefits for people with gross household income just above 130 percent of the poverty line, or about $35,500 per year for a family of three.

The USDA contends the current system extends benefits to households that may not meet ordinary SNAP income or resource limits. In the text of the proposed rule reviewed by CBS News, the agency argued that categorical eligibility was designed to simplify applications for households already eligible for cash assistance, not to expand who qualifies.

The Trump administration proposed a nearly identical rule in 2019. The Biden administration withdrew it in 2021.

Public comments on the current proposal are due by Dec. 10, 2026. Current eligibility rules remain in force until a final rule is published.

USDА did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Sources cited:
- news4jax.com (https://www.news4jax.com/news/2026/11/11/usda-proposes-snap-eligibility-overhaul-could-cut-benefits-for-millions/)
- CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usda-proposes-snap-eligibility-rule-change-food-stamps/)
- Fox5Atlanta (https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/trump-usda-snap-benefits-change)
- Yahoo News (https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/snap-proposal-increase-food-insecurity-212103922.html)
- parentingpatch.com (https://parentingpatch.com/new-snap-rule-leave-million-children-without-free-school-lunches/)
- Newscord / Federal Register docket summary (https://newscord.org/article/usda-proposed-ending-snap-categorical-eligibility-could-cut-benefits-for-63-mill--Story_20261110_Nearlyoneinfivefoods7ba4f19d)