S. 3603 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Jan 8, 2026
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryExcludes benefit increases from SNAP income rules
This bill would change how SNAP (the federal food assistance program, formerly known as food stamps) counts your income when determining if you qualify and how much help you get. It would say that certain cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security benefits, railroad retirement benefits, and veterans' benefits don't count as income for SNAP purposes. The same goes for supplementary payments under Social Security.
How it affects you
If you receive Social Security, railroad retirement, or veterans' benefits and rely on SNAP to help buy food, this change could work in your favor. By not counting certain benefit increases as income, you'd have a better chance of qualifying for SNAP or receiving higher benefits, even if your overall payments went up.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Jan 8, 2026)
COLAs Don't Count Act of 2026
This bill revises requirements for determining eligibility and benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to exclude income received from certain (1) cost-of-living adjustments under the Social Security Act and to railroad retirement and veterans' benefits, and (2) supplementary payments under the Social Security Act.
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.
2nd SessionS. 3603
A BILL
COLAs Don’t Count Act of 2026
Sponsor: Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) · Introduced Jan 8, 2026 · Agriculture and Food · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jan 8, 2026: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.”