S. 1197 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Mar 27, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summarySNAP Work Requirements and Eligibility Changes
This bill changes how the federal poverty level is measured by having the Census Bureau collect new data on federal benefits and income, and it creates a commission to review how certain benefits should count toward that measure. The bill also makes several changes to SNAP (food assistance): it expands work requirements to include people ages 16-64 instead of 16-59, raises the age range for able-bodied adults without dependents from 18-55 to 18-64, and allows married couples with a dependent child over six to combine their work hours to meet requirements. States would have to start contributing 10% of SNAP costs in 2025, increasing to 50% by 2033, and the bill adds new penalties for misusing benefit cards and requires recipients to cooperate in fraud investigations.
How it affects you
If you receive SNAP benefits, you may face expanded work requirements depending on your age and family situation, potentially affecting how long you can receive assistance. States that run SNAP programs will need to start funding a larger share of the program's costs. The changes to how poverty is measured could affect which households qualify for SNAP and other federal assistance programs in the future.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Mar 27, 2025)
SNAP Reform and Upward Mobility Act of 2025
This bill amends how U.S. poverty levels are determined and modifies Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility and enforcement provisions.
The Bureau of the Census must (1) collect specified data regarding the receipt of federal benefits and individual income, and (2) use the data to provide an alternative poverty measure. The bill also establishes a commission to recommend the valuation of specific federal benefits for the purpose of estimating the Federal Poverty Level.
The bill also expands the applicability of the general work requirements for SNAP recipients to include those who are ages 16-64 (currently 16-59) with exemptions.
This bill also expands the applicability of the work requirements for SNAP recipients who are able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) to include those who are ages 18-64 (currently 18-55). In general, ABAWDs have work requirements in addition to the general SNAP work-related requirements and are limited to receiving 3 months of SNAP benefits in a 36-month period, unless the additional work-related requirements are met. Further, the bill allows married individuals with a dependent over the age of six to jointly fulfill hour-based work requirements.
Additional changes to SNAP include
• requiring states participating in SNAP to contribute specified matching funds, beginning at 10% for FY2025 and increasing annually until the matching requirement reaches 50% for FY2033 and each subsequent fiscal year;
• requiring SNAP beneficiaries to participate in fraud investigations; and
• establishing penalties (e.g., benefit suspensions) for unauthorized uses of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 1197
A BILL
SNAP Reform and Upward Mobility Act of 2025
Sponsor: Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) · Introduced Mar 27, 2025 · Agriculture and Food · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Mar 27, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.”
Sections
Title I — Poverty measurement improvement · 4
Title II — Modifications to supplemental nutrition assistance program · 10
- Sec. 201Work requirementsNo change
- Sec. 202Employment and training program outcomes reportingNo change
- Sec. 203State matching fundsNo change
- Sec. 204EligibilityNo change
- Sec. 205Compliance with fraud investigationsNo change
- Sec. 206Authorized users of electronic benefit transfer cardsNo change
- Sec. 207Reauthorization of medium- or high-risk retail food stores and wholesale food concernsNo change
- Sec. 208State activity reportsNo change
- Sec. 209Disqualification by State agencyNo change
- Sec. 210Retention of recaptured funds by StatesNo change