Republicans are still torn on how to use SNAP work requirements to pay for their policy agenda, even as the House GOP leadership continues to struggle to agree on spending cuts.
House leadership initially hoped to have a budget resolution go through committee this week, with a potential floor vote as early as next week. However, that timeline has been delayed by party infighting about spending cut levels.
After a meeting late Tuesday night, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said he was feeling better about the state of reconciliation talks. Norman sits on the Budget Committee and is also a key Freedom Caucus member.
Earlier this week, Norman said he was pushing for $2 trillion in spending cuts in reconciliation. But at that point, leadership proposals didn’t come close to that number.
On Wednesday, however, Norman said there has been progress on the baseline and spending cut levels. He declined to give specifics on what leadership has proposed on spending cuts.
He said not all Freedom Caucus members would be on board, but “it’ll be a number that we can get consensus on.”
A House Ways and Means Committee document lists of possible spending cuts to offset the costs of reconciliation. Reforms in SNAP have been floated as one of those, with work requirements appearing to emerge as a likely option.
“Work requirements should be a given, we shouldn’t have to fight for that,” Norman said.
He suggested a 27-hour work requirement for able-bodied males without children.
Still, Norman said not all Republicans are on the same page with SNAP work requirements. Changes to SNAP would almost certainly be a red line for House Democrats and some more centrist Republicans whose constituents rely on the program.
House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., said he has not received instructions on how much in savings the committee will need to find. But he’s emphasized that any changes to SNAP made through reconciliation will not cut existing benefits.
He said program integrity and accountability is the focus but details were still being worked out.
“I’m looking at all different types of possibilities,” Thompson said. He said one consideration he’s weighing is the difficulties older people have if they lose their jobs but aren't eligible for Social Security.
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“Yet usually, employers are not looking to hire people at that age because they come with enough experience that they would come in at a higher wage,” Thompson said. “So it’s really hard for individuals when they hit that 55 until they get Social Security.”
In 2023, Thompson negotiated to change SNAP work requirements in debt ceiling talks. Previously, able-bodied adults without dependents between the ages of 18 to 49 could only receive SNAP benefits for three months out of every three years unless they work or participate in other activities at least 20 hours a week.
As a result of negotiations to raise the debt ceiling in 2023, the work requirement was raised to age 54. The deal also restricted states' ability to offer exemptions on workforce requirements. These provisions were set to expire in 2030.
A document of possible pay-fors includes raising the work requirement age from 54 to 56, and extending state exemption restrictions. These actions would save about $5 billion over 10 years.
Other options include reforming the Thrifty Food Plan, with potential savings of up to $274 billion over 10 years. Specifically, this policy could range from limiting changes made under the Biden administration to the TFP, to completely repealing Biden’s expansion.
Another policy option included would eliminate the tolerance threshold for SNAP improper payments. USDA is required to disregard improper payments through the program if below $56 when calculating payment error rates. If included in reconciliation, the policy would eliminate that threshold and could amount to $70 million in savings over 10 years.
Reconciliation state of play
While the House is pushing to put forward its single budget resolution bill, Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he expects the panel to mark up the first of their two resolutions as early as next week.
That bill would focus on supplying funds to the military and to support President Donald Trump’s border agenda.
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said the priority in both chambers should be delivering on Trump’s agenda.
“If Sen. Graham sends that over here, I would anticipate there will be a lot of people looking for that to hit the floor of the House to be voted out so it can go to the President’s desk,” Donalds told reporters Wednesday night.
Norman on the other hand, said the “devil’s in the details” and that the House is not obligated to accept anything the Senate sends over.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., said there were positive developments after a meeting with the White House but he declined to provide details on what the remaining hold-ups are. He expected to iron out some of these details by Thursday evening and said he hoped to make announcements by Friday.
“Our message to our friends and colleagues in the Senate is allow the House to do its work,” Johnson said. “We are moving this as quickly as expeditiously as possible.”
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