S. 1197 — SNAP Reform and Upward Mobility Act of 2025

This section defines terms—including "Federal benefit" for specified programs (e.g., Earned Income Tax Credit refundable portion, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), "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 Bureau Director, beginning in FY2025, to collect from administering agencies, in addition to Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) data to the Current Population Survey (used for official poverty statistics), data on (1) Federal benefit participation and cash-equivalent value; (2) market income; (3) entitlement and other income; (4) income and payroll taxes; (5) total resource unit income; (6) earned resource unit income; and (7) other necessary benefit or income information. It requires administering agency heads to provide such data within six months of a Director request. (Thus, this verifies self-reported ASEC survey responses with administrative records to improve poverty measurement and assess 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 each appointed by the Senate majority leader, Senate minority leader, House Speaker, and House minority leader) qualified in quantitative policy research and welfare or poverty studies, with co-chairs designated by the Senate majority leader and House Speaker. The commission must hold an initial meeting within 60 days of the last appointment (with a quorum of 6 members and no proxy voting), receive staff support including an executive director appointed by the Census Bureau Director, and obtain information from federal agencies as requested. The commission must develop recommendations for valuing federal benefits listed under 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 (also publicly available online); the commission terminates 90 days after report submission. Members serve without pay but receive travel expenses under 5 U.S.C. §§5702-5703, and $1 million is authorized to carry out the commission.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States (i.e., GAO) 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., source of official U.S. poverty statistics) with those calculated using data collected under section 101(b)(1).

This section revises work requirements and purposes of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food benefits to low-income households. Specifically, it (1) adds to SNAP's declaration of policy the purposes of increasing employment, encouraging healthy marriage, and promoting prosperous self-sufficiency (i.e., household income above the poverty level without federal services or benefits); (2) limits the definition of eligible food to essential items, food products, meals, or other items as determined by the Secretary; (3) raises the upper age limit for general work requirements to 65 (from 60); and (4) modifies SNAP's time-limited benefits for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) by (a) expanding qualifying work activities to include in-person supervised job search programs, (b) raising the age exemption threshold to 64 (from 55), (c) revising waiver criteria for high-unemployment areas to require both county-level unemployment over 10% and location outside a Bureau of Labor Statistics labor market area with unemployment over 10%, (d) reducing the state exemption percentage for ABAWDs to 5% (from 15%), (e) limiting combined work or work preparation hours for both spouses in married couples with children over age 6 to the amount required for a single head of household, and (f) exempting SNAP work requirements from minimum wage limitations.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to Congress, not later than one year after the date of enactment, a report using data from the most recent five fiscal years available on outcomes for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries who participate in employment and training (E&T) programs (as defined in 7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)(B)). For each state, the report must compare E&T participants to non-participants on (1) number and percentage who participated, (2) number and percentage who obtained a job, (3) number and percentage who retained a job for 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years, (4) wage increases or decreases over those periods, (5) number and percentage who reentered E&T after obtaining a job or exiting SNAP benefits, (6) average E&T participation duration, and (7) types of E&T activities offered and jobs targeted.

This section establishes a state matching requirement for administrative funds received under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—which provides eligible low-income households with benefits redeemable for food purchases—as a condition of state participation. States must contribute matching funds equal to (1) 10% of such federal funds 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 fiscal year thereafter (previously, no such percentage-based matching requirement). States may contribute more than required.

This section modifies SNAP categorical eligibility for households in which all members receive benefits under specified programs—including State programs funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)), SSI, or aid to the aged, blind, or disabled—by (1) requiring TANF programs to be limited to families whose income and resources satisfy financial need criteria established by the State in accordance with SNAP standards in subsections (c) and (g), and (2) requiring such households to have received a cash or noncash means-tested public benefit valued at not less than $50 for at least 6 consecutive months. (Thus, households previously eligible via short-term, low-value, or non-means-tested benefits under these programs must now meet these ongoing thresholds.)

This section requires individuals to cooperate with investigations into fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—including full participation in any meeting requested by fraud investigators and any administrative hearing—as a condition of eligibility for SNAP.

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 at least one household member and any authorized representative as authorized users on each EBT card, with a limit of no more than five authorized users per card, and EBT cards may not be used by unauthorized individuals. For unauthorized uses, it directs escalating actions consistent with existing SNAP due process requirements: (1) after two uses, the household head must review program rights and responsibilities with state agency personnel; (2) after four uses, a one-month benefit suspension; (3) after six uses, a three-month suspension; and (4) after seven or more uses, a one-month suspension per unauthorized use.

This section requires annual reauthorization of retail food stores and wholesale food concerns determined by the Food and Nutrition Service fraud detection system to have a medium or high risk of fraudulent transactions under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (from periodic reauthorization). (Thus, higher-risk SNAP retailers face more frequent eligibility reviews to deter benefit trafficking and other fraud.)

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to publish for each fiscal year a report describing the activity of each state in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which shall contain 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 from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) any approved retail food store or wholesale food concern convicted of (1) trafficking in SNAP food instruments (including electronic benefit transfer cards) or (2) selling firearms, ammunition, explosives, or controlled substances (as defined in 21 U.S.C. 802) in exchange for SNAP food instruments, effective on the date the store receives notice of disqualification, with no compensation for lost revenues. State agencies may instead allow continued participation—and impose a civil money penalty of up to $10,000 per violation (not to exceed $40,000 per investigation)—if disqualification would cause hardship to SNAP participants or if the store had an effective violation-prevention policy and unaware ownership. State agencies must annually report such exceptions to the Secretary of Agriculture, who must annually report them to Congress.

This section increases from 35% to 50% the portion of funds or allotments recovered or collected by states pursuant to SNAP sections 6(b) and 13(c) (i.e., certain household claims and allotments) that states may retain. It further requires states to use such retained amounts in excess of 35% for investigations of fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and restructures SNAP administrative cost-sharing provisions in subsection (a). (Thus, states administering SNAP may retain an additional 15% of specified recaptured funds, offset by a dedicated use requirement.)