Published June 23, 2026
Today, Senate Agriculture Republicans shared their proposal for the Farm Bill. Similar to its counterpart in the House, the proposal fails to reverse or mitigate the unprecedented $187 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enacted by the budget reconciliation law, H.R. 1.
The next few weeks are pivotal for advocates to weigh in on the discussion draft as the proposal makes its way to the full committee markup expected sometime in mid July. In May, all Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee made it clear that they will not negotiate a Farm Bill that fails to address the harms H.R. 1 has caused to food assistance. We welcome that commitment and hope Senate Democrats continue to hold the line, ensuring that any final Farm Bill meaningfully restores and strengthens SNAP rather than locking in harmful cuts.
The Farm Bill’s Purpose and the Compact It Represents
Every five years, Congress reauthorizes the Farm Bill, an expansive legislative package that governs the nation’s food and agricultural systems. Though often described as an agriculture bill, it is equal parts nutrition, rural development, conservation, and public health.
The Farm Bill reflects a longstanding bipartisan recognition that agricultural abundance and food security are inseparable. When families can afford food, farmers have stable markets. When farmers thrive, local economies grow. That compact is now under strain.
What the Farm Bill Covers and Why SNAP Is Central
The Farm Bill is organized into titles, each governing a different policy domain: The current Republican Senate proposal has the following titles:
- TITLE I — COMMODITIES
- TITLE II — CONSERVATION
- TITLE III — TRADE
- TITLE IV — NUTRITION (including SNAP, commodity assistance, and related programs)
- TITLE V — CREDIT
- TITLE VI — RURAL DEVELOPMENT
- TITLE VII — RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND RELATED MATTERS
- TITLE VIII — FORESTRY
- TITLE IX — ENERGY
- TITLE X — HORTICULTURE
- TITLE XI — CROP INSURANCE
- TITLE XII — MISCELLANEOUS (includes livestock, national security, fertilizer, and other provisions)
Historically, SNAP has been the largest component of Farm Bill spending because it provides vital nutrition assistance to tens of millions of Americans and acts as an automatic stabilizer during economic downturns. For instance, in recessions, each dollar spent on SNAP can generate up to $1.80 in economic activity. SNAP helps reduce hunger, improve birth outcomes, and manage chronic diseases, while also lowering health care costs and boosting economic activity. It supports farmers, grocers, truckers, and food manufacturers in both rural and urban areas. SNAP is intended to be a core element of the agricultural sector and national security.
The Damage From H.R. 1 and the Failure to Repair It
The House Farm Bill and the Republican Senate proposal come directly on the heels of the budget reconciliation law, H.R. 1, which included the largest SNAP cut in history, $187 billion, and fundamentally reshaped the federal-state partnership.
It also comes amid the largest drop in participation in SNAP. Since H.R.1 was passed in July 2025, 4.7 million people have lost access to SNAP. Looking back a little farther, to when Trump resumed office in January 2025, we see a total of 5.5 million fewer people on the SNAP caseload. This awful number is only going to grow, as New York’s and California’s implementation of the expanded time limits are not yet reflected in the data.
H.R. 1 also shifts more of the cost of running SNAP to the states and introduces a state share of benefits costs, effectively converting SNAP from a fully federally funded, countercyclical program into a volatile state liability, just as states face rising health care costs and slowing revenues.
While SNAP faced historic cuts alongside health care and higher education, H.R.1 delivered substantial benefits to large companies and wealthy individuals. While the changes in H.R. 1 ensured that Americans would not have access to economic mobility programs, the wealth transfers enabled billionaires’ wealth to expand, even for non-American-owned companies. H.R. 1 also provided approximately $62 billion in new or enhanced agricultural subsidies, including expansions of agriculture risk coverage (ARC) and price loss coverage (PLC), as well as enhanced crop insurance subsidies.
The current proposal does nothing to undo this damage.
SNAP Provisions in the Republican Senate Farm Bill Proposal
Sec. 4103 Permanent Authority for Online Purchasing: This provision would make SNAP online permanent nationwide by requiring U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to transition the Online Purchasing Pilot from demonstration status to a permanent program and to develop regulations to address program integrity, consumer protections, and equitable access, including for rural communities. The provision also requires USDA to consult with state agencies, retailers, EBT processors, consumer advocates, and other stakeholders, drawing on lessons learned from online purchasing operations to date.
Sec. 4104 Approval of Retail Food, Stores, and Wholesale Food Concerns: This provision would strengthen SNAP retailer authorization requirements for the new permanent online purchasing option by limiting participation to retailers that own the food inventory they sell. Online-only retailers would need to demonstrate at least one year of operations, maintain sufficient inventory, and provide documentation showing inventory ownership and sales activity. The provision would prohibit aggregator sites that do not own inventory from accepting SNAP and would bar non-authorized third parties from selling food through authorized SNAP retailers. These changes are intended to improve program integrity and oversight of SNAP transactions.
Sec. 4105 Administrative Processes for Retailers: This provision amends SNAP retailer authorization rules. It applies the existing six-month waiting period for reapplication when a retail food store or wholesale food concern is denied approval for failing to meet USDA authorization criteria on two consecutive occasions within a three-year period.
Sec. 4106 Animal Protein as Eligible Incentive Food: This provision adds animal protein as an eligible incentive food alongside fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Sec. 4107 Staffing Flexibility: This provision would allow state SNAP agencies to hire contractors to assist with application processing and other program functions during periods of increased workload or operational challenges, such as application surges, public health emergencies, seasonal workforce fluctuations, temporary staffing shortages, or natural disasters. Contractors could not determine eligibility, conduct quality control reviews, initiate enforcement actions, conduct administrative hearings, or make employment and training referrals. The provision requires states to notify USDA when using this authority, and USDA must publicly post those notifications and submit annual reports to Congress on state use of contractors and challenges affecting application processing.
While this section has been amended from the House version, it still pursues harmful measures that privatize SNAP eligibility functions, despite documented evidence that prior privatization efforts increased delays, errors, and wrongful denials. See the dangers of privatization here. States and families need less red tape and more stability, not outsourcing schemes that undermine program integrity. States and families need less red tape and more stability, not outsourcing schemes that undermine program integrity.
Sec. 4108 Quality Control Improvements: This provision requires that all errors, including small ones, and all unknown and improper payments be included in a supplemental section of the payment error rate report, which could increase administrative burden at a time when states must pay an additional 25 percent to administer the program.
Sec. 4109 Authorization of Appropriations: This provision extends the years for which funds are appropriated to 2031.
Sec. 4110 Retail Food Store and Recipient Trafficking: This provision extends the period for which funds will be appropriated to support SNAP trafficking prevention to 2031.
The Senate Republican Proposal Fails to Meet the Moment
Families across the country are experiencing high food prices, increasing utility bills, rising fuel costs, and sluggish labor market growth. Cooling expenses alone are expected to hit some of the highest levels in years, with one in six households already behind on energy payments. For low-income workers — many of whom are balancing multiple jobs, unpredictable hours, caregiving duties, and unstable income — there is very little financial margin remaining. Food insecurity remains unacceptably high, and recent research reports hunger levels that exceed those seen during the pandemic.
At the same time, states are preparing to absorb unprecedented SNAP administrative and benefit costs under H.R. 1 that are straining already tight budgets and forcing difficult trade-offs. This is on top of worsening state fiscal conditions. Surpluses accumulated during the pandemic have diminished. Rainy-day funds, though still higher than pre-pandemic levels in many states, are beginning to decline. Costs related to Medicaid are growing; disaster recovery expenses are up; and revenues are leveling off.
Yet, instead of repairing the damage caused by the largest SNAP cut in history, this proposal leaves those cuts intact. It does not restore lost benefits, reverse harmful policy changes, or strengthen the federal commitment to helping families afford food. It offers no meaningful relief to the millions of people who have already lost SNAP assistance and does nothing to prevent further losses as additional provisions take effect.
The Farm Bill has long reflected a bipartisan understanding that supporting farmers and ensuring families can afford food are complementary goals. This proposal falls short of that commitment. At a time when working families, states, retailers, farmers, and local economies need stability, Congress should strengthen SNAP, not preserve policies that deepen hunger and shift costs onto states.
The full Senate Agriculture Committee has an opportunity to change course. Any final Farm Bill should, at a minimum, restore SNAP to its pre-H.R. 1 structure and funding and begin repairing the harm already inflicted on families and communities. The stakes are too high to accept anything less.
Advocates Must Act Immediately
FRAC, along with its network of anti-hunger advocates around the country, has always worked to protect and strengthen SNAP in every Farm Bill cycle. This time, the stakes are higher as we must not only advance improvements but also restore SNAP benefits.
We will not support any Farm Bill that does not restore SNAP to its pre-H.R. 1 structure and funding.
- Use the FRAC Action Network to send an email directly to yourSenator, urging that the markup includerelief for American families by addressing SNAP cuts.
- Contact your state delegation, governor, and budget officer, and encourage them to reach out to their congressional colleagues and demand that no Farm Bill move forward without SNAP relief.
- Schedule meetings with your Members of Congress and urge them to protect and strengthen SNAP and food assistance programs.
- Explore FRAC’s SNAP participation dashboard to see how H.R. 1 is impacting your state.