S. 1905 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, May 22, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryIncreases federal funding for SNAP staff costs
Currently, the federal government pays about half of what states spend on SNAP administrative staff. This bill would change that so the federal government covers 100% of those costs instead. It also requires that SNAP administrators working for state agencies earn at least as much as federal employees with comparable positions, with those wages adjusted annually to match federal pay increases.
How it affects you
If you work as a SNAP administrator for a state agency, you'd be eligible for higher pay that matches federal employee wages. States that run SNAP programs would receive more federal funding to cover administrative costs, which could allow them to hire and train more staff to process applications and help people access benefits.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, May 22, 2025)
SNAP Administrator Retention Act of 2025
This bill directs the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to pay Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) state agencies for 100% of SNAP administrative personnel costs. The bill also requires that state SNAP agency administrators be paid at least the same amount as federal employees. (Under current law, FNS generally pays 50% of a state's administrative costs for SNAP.)
Specifically, FNS must pay a state agency for 100% of all SNAP administrative personnel costs that are part of an FNS-approved state agency personnel wage plan. This must include all costs associated with hiring and training new employees, maintaining those personnel costs, and complying with wage standards. The state agency must use these funds (1) to supplement, not supplant, nonfederal funds used for existing administrative personnel costs; and (2) for existing or additional full-time positions that are above the number of positions that were held in FY2024.
The bill also requires that the wage standards for SNAP state agency administrators be (1) at least the same amount as the General Schedule (GS) pay rate for federal employees; and (2) updated annually based on any increase in the GS pay rate, including locality adjustments.
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. 1905
A BILL
SNAP Administrator Retention Act of 2025
Sponsor: Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) · Introduced May 22, 2025 · Agriculture and Food · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action May 22, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.”