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About 170,000 Washingtonians stand to lose food stamp benefits under the Republican megabill that passed Congress Thursday, state officials estimate.
Of those, 137,000 face obstacles from more stringent work requirements in the bill, and the other 33,000 are refugees and asylees who would also no longer be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.
Washington would also be on the hook for about $88 million in added administrative costs annually, according to estimates the governor’s office sent out Thursday. And unless Washington reduces its already-low payment error rate, it could have to shoulder upward of $100 million a year in new costs the feds previously paid.
States that can’t pick up those added costs could be forced to severely downsize or shut down their SNAP programs entirely. While the federal government funds the benefits, states run the program. The two levels of government share administrative expenses.
“It’s a very real possibility that states will just choose not to participate in SNAP at all,” said Claire Lane, director of the Seattle-based Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition.
Democrats decried the legislation for shredding the social safety net while locking in tax cuts for wealthy Americans. The proposed cuts to food stamps would be the biggest since the program’s launch.
The SNAP changes would reduce federal spending on the program nationwide by an estimated $230 billion over 10 years. This is one of the key ways that Republicans offset revenue losses from lower taxes.
“This bill takes food from our most vulnerable Washingtonians to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy,” Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement Thursday.
The White House recently said “the mission of the program has failed,” while the GOP overhaul “promotes work, responsibility, and restores SNAP to serve the truly needy.”
Currently, SNAP requires able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 54 without dependents to work at least 20 hours per week to access food stamps. The megabill the U.S. House passed Thursday would up that to age 64 and add work requirements for parents whose children are at least 14 years old. Previously exempt veterans, former foster youth and people experiencing homelessness would also need to work.
In March, the most recent month for which data is available, over 908,000 Washingtonians received a total of $168 million in SNAP benefits. That’s more than 10% of the state’s residents. Nationwide, the country’s largest anti-hunger initiative serves upward of 42 million people.
The 137,000 who could lose benefits unless they meet the new work requirements make up 15% of the state’s SNAP participants. These requirements could take effect this year.
Others on the program would see their benefits reduced by an average of $56 per month, according to the state Department of Social and Health Services that runs Washington’s SNAP program.
The agency estimates the lost economic activity from SNAP will cost grocery stores, farmers markets and other Washington retailers at least $360 million annually.
The legislation Republicans call the “big, beautiful bill” also carries major financial implications for the state.
The biggest chunk comes from errors in payments states make to recipients. Based on how often they overpay or underpay, states would have to shoulder more of the cost of funding benefits. Those that keep their error rates below 6% can avoid paying anything.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released error rates for each state in fiscal year 2024. Washington’s was 6.06%. The vast majority of that is overpayments.
The national average is around 11%.
At the eleventh hour, Senate Republicans carved out exemptions for states with the worst error rates to help win the key vote of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. Her state has by far the highest error rate, at nearly 25%.
For Washington, this issue could mean more than $100 million in new state expenses. This won’t start until 2028 federal fiscal year, so the state can still improve its error rate.
The megabill also shifts more administrative costs to the states from a 50-50 split to the feds paying just 25%.
The reconciliation bill’s passage and looming financial threat for states come as Washington raises taxes and cuts costs to fill a huge budget shortfall.
“This massive payment shift to states is happening at the same time that we’re losing state workers, and as the economy slows for everyone,” Lane said. “Every state’s budget is going to be pressed.”
Trump is set to sign the legislation carrying his domestic agenda Friday. Washington’s congressional delegation voted along party lines, with all Democrats opposed and Reps. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, and Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, supporting the bill.
Their central and eastern Washington districts have the most households that receive SNAP benefits, as of 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Newhouse’s office identified the changes to the SNAP program as provisions that the congressman “worked to secure” and said they would save taxpayers money by “rooting out waste, and instituting long-overdue accountability incentives to control costs.” His office also described the state cost-sharing revisions as “modest.”
This post was originally authored and published by Jake Goldstein-Street from Washington State Standard via RSS Feed. Join today to get your news feed on Nationwide Report®.
