The US Department of Agriculture proposed a rule on November 10 that would strip automatic SNAP eligibility from millions of people, ending a practice that 46 states currently use to widen food assistance.
Under the proposal, households would qualify automatically for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program only if every member receives direct cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Today, states can confer automatic eligibility through non-cash TANF benefits as well — a childcare referral, access to a service hotline. That flexibility, known as broad-based categorical eligibility, lets states set income limits above the federal threshold of 130 percent of the poverty line and, in 41 states, eliminate asset limits entirely.
The USDA estimates roughly 3.2 million households containing 6.3 million people would lose eligibility once the rule takes full effect in fiscal year 2029, saving about $44.65 billion in federal SNAP spending over five years. The department cites cases of households with substantial assets receiving benefits, including a widely reported instance of a millionaire in Minnesota, and a 2012 GAO report finding higher payment-error rates among such households.
States would see a net reduction of about $5.24 billion in SNAP spending but face roughly $928.5 million in added administrative costs to rebuild eligibility systems.
Public comment runs until December 10, 2026.
Source: USDA proposed rule published Nov. 10, 2026, reported by News4JAX. Photo: Bdx, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative.
