Question
Is SNAP being cut in the Farm Bill 2026?
Last updated: 2026-05-01
Quick answer
The Farm Bill 2026 itself does not cut SNAP further, but it keeps in place the $187 billion in SNAP cuts enacted by H.R. 1 (the 2025 budget reconciliation law). Multiple Democratic amendments to reverse those cuts during House consideration did not pass. The combined effect: SNAP remains under the H.R. 1 cuts.
The honest answer
This is a question that confuses a lot of people, including major news outlets. Here’s the precise truth:
The Farm Bill 2026 (H.R. 7567) by itself does not cut SNAP. It does not impose new spending reductions on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
But it leaves in place massive cuts that were already enacted. The 2025 budget reconciliation law (H.R. 1), passed before the 2026 farm bill, cut SNAP by approximately $187 billion over 10 years. Those cuts include:
- State cost-shifts (states must now contribute to benefit costs for the first time in program history)
- Stricter ABAWD work requirements (Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents)
- Reduced state administrative flexibility
- Limits on Standard Utility Allowance increases
Multiple Democratic amendments during House consideration of the 2026 farm bill tried to reverse, delay, or modify the H.R. 1 cuts. None passed.
Why this is confusing
When news outlets say “the farm bill cuts SNAP,” they usually mean one of two things:
- The 2026 farm bill leaves H.R. 1 cuts in place (true)
- The farm bill is actively cutting SNAP further (not true)
Both interpretations are common. Reading both bills together is required to understand actual SNAP policy.
What the 2026 farm bill actually does to SNAP
The farm bill makes several SNAP-related changes (none of them benefit cuts):
- Reauthorizes SNAP through 2031
- Hot rotisserie chicken eligible nationwide: Crawford (R-AR) amendment passed 384-35
- State authority to outsource SNAP certification: states can use private contractors
- New local food purchasing grants: replaces the COVID-era LFPA program
- Expanded eligibility for nutrition incentive programs: Double Up Food Bucks-style programs
What’s likely in the Senate
Sen. Klobuchar (D-MN) and other Senate Democrats are expected to push for:
- Delayed implementation of state cost-shifts
- Possible carve-outs for specific populations
- Reauthorization of state administrative flexibility
Reversing the H.R. 1 cuts entirely is procedurally difficult and politically unlikely.
The state-level impact
State cost-shifts are politically explosive. States with the largest impacts (by recipient population):
- California (5.2M recipients)
- Texas (3.4M)
- Florida (2.9M)
- New York (2.85M)
Many state Republican governors who supported H.R. 1 federally now face the fiscal consequences.
Where to go for more
- SNAP Changes 2026, full breakdown
- SNAP State Cost-Shifts, state-level impacts
- Farm Bill vs Reconciliation H.R. 1, how the two laws interact
- SNAP Recipients Guide, practical implications