Republicans Introduce Bill to Stop Food Stamp Freeloaders

GOP lawmakers are proposing major reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including work requirements for a vast swathe of eligible participants, the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) has reported.

Republican Oklahoma Rep. Josh Brecheen and Utah Sen. Mike Lee will reintroduce the SNAP Reform and Upward Mobility Act (SRUMA) Thursday. The legislation would impose work requirements on food stamp recipients between the ages of 18 and 64, including individuals with children of six years of age or older.

Able-bodied adults with no dependents between the ages of 18 and 54 are currently eligible for three months of SNAP benefits over three years before work requirements start to kick in, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees the program.

The bill would also close loopholes that have contributed to an expansion in eligible recipients and require states to share more responsibility in contributing to the program, according to background on the bill obtained by the DCNF.

The GOP lawmakers argue imposing work requirements will end “a culture of dependency” on the popular entitlement program and allow SNAP to return to its fundamental mission of providing temporary relief to Americans in financial need. Lee told the DCNF the program was not designed to be “a permanent subsidy for able-bodied adults.”

“For decades, the federal government has grossly mismanaged SNAP, loosening eligibility requirements, allowing more recipients to be exempt from work requirements, and overseeing massive fraud and abuse,” Brecheen told the DCNF. “It’s time to return to commonsense policies that promote our American values of hard work and individual responsibility.”

“Work requirements are widely supported by the American public, save taxpayer dollars, and will strengthen the program for families who really need it,” Lee told the DCNF.

Brecheen and Lee’s proposal to rein in the cost of the entitlement program comes as GOP lawmakers are aiming to slash trillions in federal spending to help offset the cost of the president’s tax and spending priorities Congress is currently negotiating.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans support work requirements for SNAP benefits, according to a 2023 poll conducted by the Axios-Ipsos American Health Index.

Eight in ten registered Republican voters told the survey the back work requirements for SNAP or Medicaid recipients

More than 42 million Americans received monthly SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2023, according to USDA data. Since the 1990s, federal SNAP spending has risen from less than $20 billion to more than $110 billion, according to information shared by Brecheen’s office.

Several provisions of the SNAP reform legislation could end up in a forthcoming budget reconciliation bill. The initial House budget resolution notably instructed the House Agriculture Committee, which has jurisdiction over SNAP, to cut at least $230 billion in spending.

The legislation also seeks to crackdown on the mismanagement of taxpayer dollars in the program by requiring eligible recipients to cooperate with fraud investigations, according to the bill text.

Republican Reps. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin and Mike Kennedy of Utah are cosponsoring the House version of the bill. The legislation is supported by Heritage Action and the Foundation for Government Accountability Action.

Brecheen introduced the Healthy SNAP Act in January 2025, which would prohibit Americans from purchasing soft drinks and most junk foods with SNAP benefits. The proposal is notably supported by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and the “Make America Healthy Again” Movement.