WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) announced the Senate parliamentarian has ruled the committee’s revised state cost-share section (Section 10105) for SNAP complies with the Bryd rule.
“This paves the way for important reforms that improve efficiency and management of SNAP while encouraging responsible use of taxpayer dollars. In 2023 alone, over $10 billion was misspent when administering this program – underscoring the need for stronger accountability. Our commonsense approach encourages states to adopt better practices, reduce error rates, be better stewards of taxpayer dollars, and prioritize the resources for those who truly need it,” Boozman said.
The updated Senate plan allows states to choose either the Fiscal Year 2025 or Fiscal Year 2026 payment error rate to calculate their state match requirement that begins in Fiscal Year 2028. For Fiscal Year 2029 and following, the state match will be calculated using the payment error rate from three fiscal years prior. A state must contribute a set percentage of the cost of its SNAP benefits if its payment error rate exceeds six percent. State payment error rates are released annually at the end of June.
Originally, Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough said the SNAP provision to force the states to pick up a sliding amount of food stamp benefits based on payment error rates violated a key Senate rule. The Byrd rule, named after the late West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, prohibited legislating on budget reconciliation bills.
