Overview

• Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled the revised SNAP state cost-share provision complies with the chamber’s Byrd Rule, clearing its path into the reconciliation bill.
• The plan lets states choose either their fiscal 2025 or 2026 payment error rate to determine cost shares in fiscal 2028 and applies a three-year lag for calculations from fiscal 2029 onward.
• A newly added waiver authority could exempt Alaska and Hawaii if they implement corrective action plans to address high payment error rates.
• Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski have raised doubts about the reliability of error-rate data and the practical challenges of enforcing state contributions.
• Democrats warn that shifting SNAP costs to states may force benefit cuts for millions of recipients as Republicans push to finalize the package by the July 4 deadline.