Under the political radar, the nation’s food stamp program is undergoing a slow transformation. The consequences could be felt until mid-term.
Changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act are coming in stages, ranging from stricter work requirements to restrictions on noncitizens. Food stamp rolls have already dwindled more than 5 million people Nationally, as early as this summer, Arizona, the hardest-hit state, saw a large majority of its food stamp recipients lose their benefits.
The latest change was put into place on October 1, when the share of administrative costs that states and counties must pay increased from 50% to 75%. An even bigger financial shift looms a year from now, when states with high payment error rates will have to bear some benefit costs for the first time, a scenario that is already impacting state and local budget planning.
All of this adds up to a new era in federal-state relations – and in the size and nature of the welfare state.
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