Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Provisions in H.R. 3746, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Provisions in H.R. 3746, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

INSIGHTi

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) Provisions in H.R. 3746, the Fiscal
Responsibility Act of 2023
May 31, 2023
On May 29, 2023, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (H.R. 3746) was introduced, reflecting the
agreement reached between President Biden and Speaker of the House McCarthy in negotiations
surrounding raising the debt limit. Below is a description of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) provisions included in the legislation, as introduced, as well as a comparison to current
law.
SNAP Background
SNAP provides benefits on electronic benefit transfer cards to eligible, low-income households. SNAP
benefits are not the same as cash; they may only be spent on eligible food at authorized stores. SNAP is
the largest of the domestic nutrition programs, both in terms of people served and federal spending (see
USDA’s SNAP data tables). The program is administered as a federal-state partnership with state agencies
determining households’ eligibility for benefits based on federal policy (including state options
established within federal policy).
SNAP Time Limit, Prior to Any H.R. 3746 Changes
SNAP has long included a number of work-related rules. Generally speaking, the strictest of the rules is
the time limit for “Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents” (ABAWDs), added by the 1996 welfare
reform law. The limit requires specified individuals to work (or enroll in a work program such as a state’s
SNAP Employment and Training Program) 20 hours per week (80 hours per month). If not compliant,
these individuals are limited to three months of SNAP benefits in a 36-month period. (During the
COVID-19 public health emergency, under the authority of P.L. 116-127, the time limit was largely
suspended, but states are transitioning back to enforcement.) SNAP’s statute gives states two general
options to reduce the applicability of the time limit. States may
1. apply to USDA to request waivers from enforcing the rule statewide or in a portion of the
state, based on specified unemployment and/or labor market data; and
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2. where the limit is not waived, use discretionary, case-by-case exemptions to provide an
additional month or months of benefits to an individual who has already received three
months of benefits.
States vary in their use of waivers and discretionary exemptions.
H.R. 3746: SNAP Provisions
Table 1 summarizes the SNAP provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.
Overall, the legislation would change the population potentially subject to the time limit—expanding the
applicable ages, but also exempting certain populations from the time limit policy entirely. The legislation
also includes a new requirement for USDA to make public more information on waiver requests; would
reduce the availability of states’ discretionary, case-by-case exemptions; and would include employment
as a statutory purpose of the program.
The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO’s) cost estimate of the bill (May 30, 2023) estimated that, taken
together, the SNAP provisions would increase spending by $2.1 billion over the 2023-2033 period. CBO
describes the interaction of the policies that expand the population subject to the time limit with those that
contract that population.
Table 1. SNAP Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents Time Limit, Comparison of
Current Law and H.R. 3746
H.R. 3746 Legislative Text Introduced May 29, 2023
Current Law (prior
H.R. 3746,

to enactment of H.R. 3746)
As Introduced
Amount of work
For those subject to time limit, living in an area
No changes.
required, duration of
enforcing the limit, individuals must work and/or
time limit
participate in a work program 20 hours per
week (80 hours per month). If not compliant,
they may receive up to three months of SNAP
benefits in a 36-month period.
(7 U.S.C. §2015(o)(2))
Ages subject to time
Older than 18 years, younger than 50.
Phases in an upper age limit of 55:
limit
(7 U.S.C. 2015(o)(3))
•
FY2023: older than 18, younger than 51;
•
FY2024: older than 18, younger than 53;
•
FY2025 and each fiscal year thereafter:
older than 18, younger than 55.
(§311(a))
Categorical exemptions
In addition to those outside the age range above, Adds new exempt populations:
populations exempt from the time limit are
•
homeless individuals,
individuals
•
•

veterans,

medically certified as physically or mentally
unfit for employment;
•
18-24-year olds who were in foster care
on their 18th birthday.
•
with responsibility for a dependent child;
(§311(a))
•
exempt from work registration
requirements as listed in 7 U.S.C.
§2015(d)(2); or
•
pregnant.

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Current Law (prior
H.R. 3746,

to enactment of H.R. 3746)
As Introduced
Timing for
Not applicable.
Applies to any initial certification or
implementation of
recertification received starting 90 days after
expanded age range
the date of enactment of the bil .
and exempted
Sunset of October 1, 2030.
populations
(§311(b))
States’ discretionary
States enforcing the time limit earn discretionary For FY2024 and each subsequent fiscal year,
exemptions
exemptions, which they may use to provide a
reduces the discretionary exemption
time-limited individual an additional month or
calculation to 8% of covered individuals.
months of benefits. States’ available exemptions
(§312)
are calculated based on 12% of the caseload
estimated to be subject to the time limit.
(7 U.S.C. §2015(o)(6))
Program purpose
Authorizing law does not include employment
Adds obtaining employment and increasing
programs in the statutory purpose of the
earnings as statutory purposes of the
program.
program.
(7 U.S.C. §2011)
(§313)
States’ labor-market-
States may request to waive enforcement of the
Does not change the available grounds for
based waivers
time limit for the entire state or portions of the
states to request waivers. Requires USDA to
state if the area (1) has an unemployment rate of make public states’ waiver requests, “all
over 10%; or (2) does not have a sufficient
supporting data from the state, and agency
number of jobs to provide employment for the
approvals of such requests.”
individuals. (7 U.S.C. §2015(o)(4))
(§314)
USDA regulation specifies a number of different
bases for requesting a waiver due to lack of
sufficient jobs. (7 C.F.R. §273.24(f))
Source: CRS analysis of 7 U.S.C. §§2011, 2015, and H.R. 3746 as introduced.
Notes: “State” in the SNAP context refers to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Author Information

Randy Alison Aussenberg

Specialist in Nutrition Assistance Policy

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