The US Department of Agriculture has proposed a rule that would strip about 6.3 million people of food-stamp benefits by 2029 by ending automatic eligibility for families already receiving another form of federal welfare.

The proposal, published on Tuesday, targets a provision known as broad-based categorical eligibility, which automatically qualifies households for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) if they meet state-run requirements for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

The two programmes use different income tests. SNAP normally requires a household to earn less than 130 percent of the federal poverty level; TANF rules vary by state and can reach households earning up to 200 percent of it. Ending the link would push those higher-earning households off SNAP because their income or assets exceed the federal limit, Al Jazeera reported.

More than 36 million people are enrolled in SNAP, the largest federal food-aid programme in the United States. An individual receives about $190 a month on average and a household about $356 in groceries.

Children and the knock-on effects

About 1.8 million children would lose automatic eligibility for free school meals, because that entitlement flows from SNAP enrolment. The USDA said nearly all of them would still qualify for free or reduced-price meals if they applied separately.

The rule would also reach the WIC nutrition programme for pregnant women, mothers and young children: CNN reported that 16,500 participants would have to apply separately and a further 5,500 would no longer be eligible.

The USDA said the change would cut federal SNAP spending by nearly $45 billion and state spending by $5.2 billion over five years.

‘Bloated the welfare rolls’ versus ‘making life harder’

“Broad-based categorical eligibility has bloated the welfare rolls for decades,” the agency said in a statement. “It has allowed States to take short cuts, error rates to balloon, and those with income and assets far above federal limits access to a benefit meant for the neediest among us. Correcting this loophole is long overdue.”

In the proposal itself, the department said the revisions “would ensure that SNAP benefits are targeted to needy households that have qualified for TANF assistance”.

Critics say the practical effect is paperwork. Advocates told CNN the rule would increase the burden on enrollees and state agencies, which could trap eligible participants and cost them benefits; families with immigrant members, they said, are often afraid to file government forms at all.

“Instead of helping families, the administration is making life harder for them,” said Gina Plata-Nino, SNAP policy and advocacy director at the Food Research & Action Center. “These are working families.”

Democratic Senator Cory Booker called the proposal “despicable”. Minnesota Representative Angie Craig said it “would make it harder to meet basic needs and roll back efforts to streamline federal programs”.

Not the first attempt

The Trump administration proposed a near-identical rule ending broad-based categorical eligibility in 2019. It was withdrawn by the Biden administration in 2021.

The new proposal also follows the July 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which expanded work requirements and made certain categories of immigrants ineligible. Al Jazeera reports that 5.5 million people lost access to SNAP as a result; CNN, citing the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, reports enrolment has fallen by more than 5 million — including an estimated 2 million children — since the law passed, attributing the drop partly to states tightening eligibility reviews to avoid payment-error penalties.

In November 2025, the administration briefly withheld SNAP funding during the federal shutdown. The Supreme Court ultimately held that it could not lawfully do so.

The rule is not yet in force. It is open for public comment for 30 days, until 10 December.

How big a share?

The three outlets express the same cut differently. Al Jazeera, citing the USDA, puts it at “about 17 percent” of beneficiaries; CNN calls it “nearly one in five”; Hiru News says 18 percent. Against the 36 million enrolment figure, 6.3 million is roughly 17.5 percent — all three are roundings of the same number rather than competing estimates.

Not reported

No filing states how many of the 6.3 million would requalify for SNAP under the standard income test rather than losing benefits outright, or what the USDA’s estimate assumes about state-level TANF rules, which differ widely. None of the three reports gives a date for a final rule.

Sources