H.R. 2407 — SNAP Reform and Upward Mobility Act of 2025

This section defines terms—including "Federal benefit" (covering 40 specified programs such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Pell Grants), "resource unit" (co-resident related individuals plus certain unrelated co-residents), "market income," "entitlement and other income," and "total resource unit income" (market income plus entitlement income plus Federal benefits minus taxes)—and directs the Census Director, beginning in FY2025, to collect additional administrative data from administering agencies for the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey. Such data includes (1) Federal benefit program participation and benefit values (for individuals where possible, otherwise resource units or households); (2) market income and entitlement income amounts; (3) income and payroll tax payments; (4) total resource unit income and earned resource unit income; and (5) other relevant benefit and income information. Administering agencies must provide the requested data within six months. (As background, the Current Population Survey's Annual Social and Economic Supplement is the primary source for official U.S. poverty statistics; thus, these verified administrative records will enable more accurate measurement of poverty rates and Federal anti-poverty program effectiveness.)

This section establishes within the U.S. Census Bureau the Commission on Valuation of Federal Benefits, composed of 8 members (2 appointed by the Senate majority leader, 2 by the Senate minority leader, 2 by the House Speaker, and 2 by the House minority leader), each with experience in quantitative policy research and welfare or poverty studies; designates co-chairs (1 by the Senate majority leader and 1 by the House Speaker); and authorizes $1 million to carry out the commission. The commission must develop recommendations for valuing federal benefits listed in section 101(a)(1), including non-cash benefits, for U.S. Census Bureau estimates of the federal poverty level and submit a report with detailed methodology to Congress within 270 days of enactment for public availability online. The commission terminates 90 days after submitting the report.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to Congress, not later than January 1, 2028, and every two years thereafter, a report comparing poverty rates and related measures calculated using the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey (i.e., the source of official U.S. poverty statistics) with those calculated using data collected under section 101(b)(1).

This section revises the declaration of policy for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—which provides food purchasing assistance to low-income households—by adding purposes of increasing employment, encouraging healthy marriage, and promoting prosperous self-sufficiency (i.e., maintaining income above the poverty level without federal services or benefits). The section further (1) limits SNAP-eligible food to essential items, as determined by the Secretary (previously, any of the listed foods); (2) raises the upper age limit for general work requirements to 65 (from 60); and (3) strengthens able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) requirements under Section 6(o) by specifying that qualifying activities include in-person supervised job search programs, raising the ABAWD age limit to 64 (from 55), modifying waiver criteria for high-unemployment areas to require both insufficient jobs in the county (or equivalent) and an unemployment rate of 10% or less in the labor market area (previously based on areas with unemployment of 10% or more or insufficient jobs), reducing the state-level exception allowance to 5% of ABAWD cases (from 15%), limiting combined work or preparation hours for married couples with children over age 6 to the amount required for a single head of household, and exempting specified work requirements from minimum wage-based hour limitations.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to Congress, not later than one year after the date of enactment, a report on outcomes for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries participating in employment and training programs (as defined in 7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)(B)) using data from the most recent five fiscal years available. The report must detail, for each state and comparing participants to nonparticipants: (1) the number and percentage who participated; (2) the number and percentage who obtained a job; (3) the number and percentage who retained a job for six months, one year, or five years; (4) wage increases or decreases for those retaining jobs at those intervals; (5) the number and percentage who previously participated, obtained a job or stopped receiving SNAP benefits, later regained eligibility, and reentered a program; (6) average program participation duration; and (7) a breakdown of program activities offered and types of jobs participants are prepared to obtain.

This section establishes a state matching requirement for federal funds received for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) administration, requiring each participating state to contribute an amount equal to (1) 10% in FY2025; (2) 15% in FY2026; (3) 20% in FY2027; (4) 25% in FY2028; (5) 30% in FY2029; (6) 35% in FY2030; (7) 40% in FY2031; (8) 45% in FY2032; and (9) 50% in FY2033 and each year thereafter (previously, no such matching requirement in this section). States may contribute more than required.

This section revises Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) categorical eligibility standards by (1) limiting eligibility for households in which all members receive benefits under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF) to those State programs restricted to families whose income and resources satisfy financial need criteria established by the State in accordance with SNAP standards in subsections (c) (income) and (g) (resources); and (2) requiring, to be deemed eligible under this subsection, that a household receive a cash or noncash means-tested public benefit for at least 6 consecutive months valued at not less than $50. (Thus, households receiving smaller, shorter-term, or non-means-tested TANF benefits lose automatic SNAP eligibility.)

This section establishes a new eligibility requirement for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by mandating that individuals cooperate with any fraud investigation under the program, including full participation in meetings requested by fraud investigators and administrative hearings.

This section establishes requirements for authorized users of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards issued under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). State agencies must register (1) at least one household member and (2) any authorized representative as authorized users on each EBT card, with a limit of no more than five authorized users total per card; prohibits use by unauthorized individuals; and directs escalating penalties for unauthorized uses, including (i) household head review of program rights and responsibilities after two uses, (ii) one-month benefit suspension after four uses, (iii) three-month suspension after six uses, and (iv) one-month suspension per use after seven or more uses. (Thus, these measures aim to reduce SNAP benefit trafficking while ensuring actions align with existing due process requirements under SNAP regulations.)

This section requires annual reauthorization of retail food stores and wholesale food concerns in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that the Food and Nutrition Service determines to pose a medium or high risk of fraudulent transactions using its fraud detection system (previously, reauthorization was periodic for all such retailers).

This section requires the Secretary of Agriculture to publish, for each fiscal year, a report describing each state's activity in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), containing substantially the same information as the Food and Nutrition Service's “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program State Activity Report Fiscal Year 2016” published in September 2017.

This section requires state agencies to permanently disqualify approved retail food stores or wholesale food concerns from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) upon conviction for (1) trafficking SNAP benefits (i.e., food instruments such as vouchers, checks, or electronic benefit transfer cards) or (2) selling firearms, ammunition, explosives, or controlled substances in exchange for SNAP benefits. State agencies must notify the store or concern of the disqualification, effective on receipt of notice, and provide no compensation for lost revenues. As an exception, a state agency may instead impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation (not exceeding $40,000 for violations in a single investigation) and allow continued SNAP participation if disqualification would hardship SNAP participants or if the owner was unaware of, uninvolved in, and uninstructed by an effective policy to prevent the violation; state agencies must annually report such exceptions to the Secretary of Agriculture, who compiles and reports them to Congress.

This section restructures administrative cost-sharing provisions under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and increases to 50% (from 35%) the share of funds or allotments recovered or collected pursuant to SNAP overissuance recovery (7 U.S.C. 2015(b)) and claims collection (7 U.S.C. 2022(c)) that states may retain when administering SNAP on Indian reservations or in Alaska Native villages. It further requires such states to use the retained amounts in excess of 35% for SNAP fraud investigations.