Overview
- USDA says December SNAP disbursements will follow each state's regular schedule after a 43-day federal shutdown.
- Starting in December, most adults ages 18–64 who do not live with a child under 14 must complete at least 80 hours a month of work, training, volunteering, community service, or SNAP Employment and Training to retain benefits.
- Noncompliance activates the time limit that allows only three months of benefits within a three-year period for affected individuals.
- Automatic exemptions end for people experiencing homelessness, many veterans, and former foster youth, while exemptions remain for minors, people 65 or older, pregnant people, those with certified disabilities, certain Native American groups, caregivers, and participants in regular substance-use treatment.
- State waivers narrow to counties with unemployment above 10%—or in Alaska and Hawaii when statewide unemployment is 1.5 times the national rate—and CBO estimates about 2.4 million fewer recipients from 2025–2034 with roughly 90,000 legal immigrants excluded on average each month.